Freight News, Logistics, Sea

IMO Committee Puts Net-Zero Framework on Hold

[ October 23, 2025   //   Gary Burrows ]

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adjourned the extraordinary session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) on Oct. 17 to consider the adoption of draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, including the IMO Net-Zero Framework.

The extraordinary session, which convened Oct. 14, will be reconvened in 12 months’ time. In the interim, Member states will continue to work towards consensus on the IMO Net Zero Framework.

The Net Zero Framework, or NZF, would require ships to use cleaner fuels or technologies. Ships that pass an emission threshold would be assessed a carbon fee, while compliant ships would be rewarded.

The Trump administration, however, referred to the carbon fee as “the first time that a UN organization levies a global carbon tax on the world,” citing reports that would increase global shipping costs “by as much as 10 percent or more.”

The U.S. State Department threatened port fees, blocked ports, visa restrictions on crew, and commercial penalties to countries voting the NZF.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez admitted the NZF is “not perfect,” but attempts to address the concerns of those who believe the NZF goes far enough, and others who feel it places too much of a burden on the maritime industry.”

The Intersessional Working Group on the Reduction on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, scheduled to Oct. 20-24, will go ahead to continue work on the guidelines for implementing the Net Zero Framework.

The IMO Net-Zero Framework was approved at the MEPC 83 session April 2, as a new Chapter 5 of the Draft Revised Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.

The annex comprises a set of international regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, in line with IMO’s 2023 Strategy for Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships. It includes two key elements: a global fuel standard and global GHG emissions pricing mechanism.

Tags: IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, International Marine Environment Protection Committee, International Maritime Organisation, MARPOL Annex VI