MEPC 81: Shipping stakeholders urge IMO to maintain its pace towards a ‘net-zero framework’
The IMO must stick to its timeline to establish its "net-zero framework" to help shipping meet the IMO's emission reduction targets, the shipping community urged.
PHOTO: Black smoke emitted from a ship. Getty Images
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 81st Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 81) discussed a draft outline of the IMO’s “net-zero framework”. Discussions around the framework proposed “new Chapter 5 of MARPOL Annex VI containing regulations on the IMO net-zero framework” to include a goal-based marine fuel standard and pricing mechanism for maritime GHG emissions, the IMO said.
“While nuances regarding its scope and implementation persist, the baseline framework established during MEPC 81, the so-called ‘IMO net-zero framework’, sets the stage for further deliberations, fostering a shared understanding among stakeholders,” Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) said.
“It is a first important step – but still a lot remains to do. Bridging the gap between different country positions will demand a lot of efforts within a very limited amount of time,” MMMCZCS added.
The MEPC now needs to work on its technical and economic measures “with a clear focus," the World Shipping Council (WSC) said.
A fuel standard must be calculated on a well-to-wake (WtW) basis and aligned with the IMO's emission reduction targets. An emission pricing mechanism must "bridge the price gap between fossil fuels and green fuels so that they can be used in the fleet and to encourage investment in green fuels," it asserted.
“Economic measures, whether a GHG levy, feebate, or other incentives, will be crucial to stimulate the uptake of alternative fuels by driving investment in fuel adoption and associated infrastructure,” the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) added in a statement.
By Konica Bhatt
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