Global Shipping Climate Deal Edges Closer: IMO Member States Urged to Hold Line in International Shipping News 27/04/2026 Ahead of this week’s meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (IMO, MEPC 84, April 27-May 1), the Clean Shipping Coalition welcomed progress made during this week’s intersessional meeting and called on member states to “hold the line against those looking to once again disrupt and delay” on the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework (NZF). The coalition is also calling for the meeting to expedite work on the revision of the IMO’s flag-ship energy efficiency measure, the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII), for adoption of the North East Atlantic Emission Control Area, and for progress to be made on addressing the impact of plastic marine litter. Net Zero Framework The IMO’s Net-Zero Framework is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, in line with the 2023 GHG Strategy. The NZF includes a global fuel standard (GFS), requiring ships “to gradually reduce how polluting its ship fuel can be (i.e. how much greenhouse gas is emitted for each unit of energy used, across a fuel’s life cycle)”. It also includes a mechanism for setting prices on the GHGs ships emit, to encourage the shipping industry to lower emissions as per the global fuel standard. During the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 21, April 20-24th) meeting, IMO member states successfully continued to lay the groundwork for the adoption of the Net-Zero Framework (NZF) later this year, providing the greater clarity some member states requested during October’s MEPC/ES.2. “During the intersessional meeting, we were pleased to see member states actively engaged in working out the details of the Net Zero Framework, countering the claims from the framework’s opponents that the IMO is a ‘house divided’, said Delaine McCullough, President of the Clean Shipping Coalition and Ocean Conservancy’s Shipping Program Director. “Although there are differences on some of the details, IMO member states worked constructively to seek resolutions. While we welcome the progress achieved, during MEPC 84, IMO member states must hold the line against those looking to once again disrupt and delay. The Net Zero Framework is imperfect, but is the fruit of years of negotiations and compromise, and has broad support among IMO member states. It includes technical and economic elements that are essential for allowing the IMO and the shipping industry to meet their commitments in the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy–both to address the shipping sector’s climate impact and ensure that every country can fully participate in the shipping energy transition – without being harmed by it. Agreement on anything less than what is currently on the table would be a climate failure and a political dead end.” During MEPC 84, IMO member states have three opportunities to ensure that progress is made towards slashing GHG emissions from shipping, minimising fuel burn and the overall cost of the energy transition. The first is to strengthen and make enforceable the Carbon Intensity Indicator, the IMO’s cornerstone energy efficiency measure. The second is to ensure the Net Zero Framework (NZF) is not watered down on its way to adoption. Third is to make sure the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) guidelines include sustainability criteria that account for biodiversity and human rights impacts, real world emissions factors for me