A Further Refinement of Net Zero Framework Could be Underway in Hellenic Shipping News 01/06/2026 T he process to implement the Net Zero Framework, could be faced with more hurdles along the way, with time still needed to overcome them. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “last month, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) held its 84th Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 84) session in London. The meeting followed a volatile MEPC 2nd extraordinary session last October, where a coalition of countries successfully delayed the adoption of the IMO’s much anticipated Net Zero Framework (NZF). As we reported a year ago, the framework, which aimed to introduce a global carbon pricing mechanism for shipping, faced heavy criticism, notably from the Trump administration. Last month during MEPC 84 the coalition against the NZF were largely unchanged, as were the group of countries in support of it. However, many of the parties recognised that a compromise would be needed, though many who supported the framework felt there was little scope to “water” it down”. According to Gibson, “opponents of the NZF were concerned that it was unrealistic and relied on fuels which are not yet available at scale, leading to higher shipping costs and a risk of non-compliance due to infrastructure and capacity issues. The concept of the NZF fund, its associated economic burden and uncertainty around revenue use, governance and its legal basis also created friction between member States. To overcome these issues, major flag states Liberia and Panama, which flag around 30% of the global fleet, along with Argentina proposed a revised approach centred around the Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) target. Source: Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd The proposal linked GFI adjustments to the demonstrated market uptake of low‑carbon fuels whilst also taking account of technical, affordability, availability, and scalability factors. At the same time, the proposal specified that ther