Cover Story

IMO emissions plan punt robs green fuel investors of certainty

By Greg Knowler

The most optimistic view of global maritime regulators punting a new net-zero emissions framework is that efforts to derail it completely were avoided. For most in the shipping industry, however, the International Maritime Organization’ s( IMO) one-year delay is viewed as a major missed opportunity to give the investment community the certainty it needs to fund the transition to net-zero fuels. The Oct. 17 motion to delay adoption of the IMO’ s net-zero framework was made at a tense and combative session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee( MEPC) in London. The vote to delay was 57 in favor and 49 against, with 21 abstentions.

“ We were ignored, bullied, threatened, cornered, sidelined and harassed. But we stood tall.”

In the interim, member states will continue to work toward consensus on the decarbonization plans, but achieving the emissions-cutting targets agreed under the revised IMO greenhouse gas( GHG) strategy in 2023 will now be difficult. The IMO’ s targets include at least a 20 %— striving for 30 %— reduction in emissions by 2030 and at least a 70 %, striving for 80 %, reduction by 2040 compared with 2008 levels. The ultimate goal is to achieve netzero emissions by 2050.

But critics argue that the absence of a framework on how global shipping can pass on to cargo owners the higher operating costs of using low- or zero-emission fuels will likely stall investment in shipbuilding and in scaling up production of alternative fuels to replace conventional, heavy-emission bunkers. They fear that with no global pricing mechanism, there is likely to emerge a host of local carbon pricing initiatives that will be difficult for carriers to navigate.

The willingness of the US to threaten IMO member states voting against White House efforts to water down the regulations brings a challenge that wasn’ t present in July 2023 when the IMO’ s revised GHG strategy was agreed.

10 Journal of Commerce | November 3, 2025 www. joc. com