Lack Of Urgency And Ambition Means IMO’s Climate Action Hangs In Balance

London, 4 April 2025: As week one of a marathon series of International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings closes today, all three elements of a successful shipping industry response to the climate crisis are hanging in the balance. Low ambition and delay by IMO member states is in danger of blighting progress on revision of the carbon intensity indicator, while failure to reach agreement on a draft text for the Global Fuel Standard and Levy this week means key negotiations will continue into next week’s final session.

“The three central policy measures being negotiated to drive a just and equitable energy transition of the maritime sector still hang in the balance”, said Delaine McCullough, President of the Clean Shipping Coalition. “The formal and informal efforts by IMO member states this week have yet to resolve significant chasms on key components of the Global Fuel Standard and the scope and scale of the price on GHG emissions. During next week’s MEPC83, IMO member states must knuckle down and approve an ambitiousfuel standard and a high levy on all GHG emissions from ships - or risk missing the IMO’s goals for emission reduction and clean energy uptake, with the threat of increasing inequity.”

“Meanwhile, negotiations on a revised Carbon Intensity Indicator to drive much needed immediate cuts in ship emissions is currently heading towards disappointingly low ambition and further delay”, added McCullough. “During MEPC83, IMO member states, and especially the EU, must wake up to their climate responsibilities, agree on ambitious new energy efficiency targets and fast-track the necessary changes to the CII to make sure it can contribute to the IMO’s 2030 GHG emission reduction goals.”

The three-day ISWG-APEE 1 (Intersessional Working Group on Air Pollution and Energy Efficiency, April 2-4) was tasked with revising and improving the functioning of the IMO’s Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII). The CII is the IMO’s tool for measuring and enhancing a ship's energy efficiency, expressed in grams of CO2 emitted per cargo-carrying capacity and nautical mile. The CII is key to creating more energy efficient ships and cutting emissions in the short term, but should also be seen as a long-term tool specifically calibrated for improving and maintaining on-board operational efficiency and to suppress fuel burn to the greatest extent possible. In the ongoing review of the CII, most substantive action has been delayed by years. During MEPC 83 next week, countries should ensure this delay does not continue. Governments have the chance to up ambition via new efficiency targets - which is receiving growing support from a growing number of countries and their independent analyses - and by extending the measure beyond its premature phaseout in 2030.

A strong CII would:

• Reduce demand for fuel, leading to immediate cuts in GHG emissions from fossil fuels;
• Help reduce the wasteful and costly burning of expensive energy-intensive new zero-GHG emission fuels in the future; and would
• Drive the shift towards the kind of shipping change, e.g., slower speeds and more wind propulsion, that will minimise the cost of decarbonisation and deliver important ocean-health co-benefits.

Global Fuel Standard and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Levy
At the International Maritime Organization (IMO), member states agreed to continue working on the final shape of the document that looks at the levy and the global fuel standard, but failed to reach agreement on key elements including whether all GHG emissions from ships will be taxed through a levy-like economic measure, and how ambitious the decarbonisation targets will be. The text is due for approval during next week’s MEPC 83, which implies that there is very little time to make final decisions. The Clean Shipping Coalition calls on governments to commit to an ambitious fuel standard and a tax on all GHG emissions from the shipping industry to enable shipping’s energy transition. Further key negotiations are expected during next week’s meeting.

• Op-Ed: Three GHG Meetings in London Can Transform Shipping

“This week's talks at the IMO have been a rollercoaster, with no clear path toward securing an ambitious universal GHG pricing mechanism. Countries most vulnerable to climate change have strongly emphasised the need for equity—something the IMO’s GHG strategy claims to prioritise. A universal GHG pricing mechanism isn’t just one of many tools; it’s the only viable way to decarbonise shipping fairly and effectively, ensuring no one is left behind", said Anaïs Rios, Shipping Policy Officer, Seas At Risk.

“Many elements remain unresolved, which is concerning given the tight timeframe. We still don't have clarity on the decarbonisation targets for 2050, let alone the penalty ships would have to pay for failing to meet those objectives. There is a lack of clarity on which fuels could be green and/or financially rewarded. There are big expectations outside the IMO building, but we risk short-term trade-offs that could undermine real climate progress”, said Constance Dijkstra, IMO Policy Manager at Transport & Environment.

“While nations strive for fair and equitable shipping emissions cuts, IMO talks risk going nowhere”, said Bastien Bonnet-Cantalloube, Expert on Decarbonisation of Aviation and Shipping, at Carbon Market Watch. “Governments must step up to ensure all GHG emissions are priced, as there is a need to refocus efforts on the levy championed by the majority. The EU's failure to defend and uphold fair and effective carbon pricing is a glaring weakness, undermining global climate action. As the climate crisis rages on, key decisions on emission pricing and credit rules for the shipping sector loom large. All efforts must be mobilised to ensure meaningful carbon pricing is part of the final compromise.”

“The IMO cannot afford an outcome next week that falls out of step with global, national, and regional commitments to cut methane emissions and a just and equitable transition,” said Elissama Menezes, Co-Director of Equal Routes.“The world is moving toward stronger methane regulations, yet weak commitments at MEPC83 risk undermining that progress. The consequence of low ambition and weak commitments is not just the proliferation of greenwashed options such as LNG, but the sacrifice of a truly just and equitable transition. The world’s most vulnerable communities—those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis—are the ones who will bear the greatest burden. Their future must not be compromised in the pursuit of false, harmful alternatives.”

Other Issues Coming up at MEPC83:
Emission Control Areas and Scrubbers
During MEPC 83, organisations like the Clean Arctic Alliance will call on member states to support a proposal for a new Northeast Atlantic emission control area to enter into force in 2027, along with a proposal for resolution that call on shipping operators to avoid using scrubbers and end release of scrubber discharge wastes in marine protected areas, habitats important for endangered wildlife, and other ecologically sensitive areas such as the Arctic.

Plastic Pollution
“Plastic pellets are once again washing up on Europe’s shores, this time after the accident in the North Sea, highlighting just how current voluntary measures are not good enough. This is not an isolated incident, and member states fail to learn. The Grangemouth crash should have triggered an immediate and robust spill response, yet nothing was done until pellets began washing up on shore. These repeated failures show that relying on industry goodwill is not protecting our seas or communities. Once again, progress at MEPC has been limited to a single plenary discussion. We urgently need binding global measures for how pellets are packaged, stowed, and transported, with proper notification to implement spill responses when things go wrong,” said Amy Youngman, Legal and Policy Specialist at the Environmental Investigation Agency.

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