IBIA Sees Need for 'Diplomatic Scars' to Heal at IMO After NZF Delay

The IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee met in London last week. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker

Bunker industry body IBIA has reaffirmed its support for maritime decarbonisation efforts at the global level despite last week's delay in adopting the IMO's proposed net-zero framework (NZF).

An extraordinary session of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) unexpectedly voted to push back its NZF plans by a year on Friday after significant opposition to its adoption emerged, led by the US.

The deal would have set progressively tougher carbon intensity requirements for marine fuels for the years 2028-2035 and beyond.

"IBIA had expected, together with a significant number of international associations, a different outcome," the organisation said in an emailed statement.

"IBIA supported the adoption of the ZNF and were already engaged in crucial work on the detailed guidelines.

"Meanwhile, a majority of IMO's Member States weren't prepared to move ahead, making shipping the first sector with a global regulatory framework to decarbonise.

"A working group meeting at IMO next week to prepare implementing guidelines will see an
attempt to heal the diplomatic scars of this week."

Edmund Hughes, IBIA's IMO representative, is set to chair a panel on regulatory updates and decarbonisation policy in the wake of the MEPC meeting at the IBIA Annual Convention in Hong Kong next month.

The event is being hosted at the Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel from November 18-20 as part of Hong Kong Maritime Week, and will see bunker industry representatives from around the world discussing the latest developments in the industry.

For more information on the event and to register, click here.