IBIA Joins Forces With ICS to Propose IMO Bunker GHG Intensity Standard

The two organisations have submitted a proposal to the IMO for consideration by a GHG working group in March. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker

Bunker industry body IBIA has joined forces with the International Chamber of Shipping to propose a new GHG intensity standard for bunker fuels to the IMO.

The two organisations have submitted a proposal to the IMO for consideration by a GHG working group in March before the next meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee.

"In addition to helping to make achievement of net zero emissions possible, the initial GHG intensity standard set for 2030 will support shipping to meet the new IMO target (also adopted by governments in July 2023) that between 5% and 10% of the energy used by shipping must be generated by 2030 from zero or near-zero energy sources," ICS said in a statement on its website on Monday.

"The exact standard for the required reduction in the GHG intensity of marine fuel would be subject to negotiation between governments.

"Significantly, the ICS/IBIA proposal provides for a crucial streamlined voluntary "energy pooling compliance mechanism" to address the possibility of fuel producers being unable to supply new fuels in sufficient quantities.

"This will allow for ships to continue to trade should sufficient quantities of fuels of the required GHG intensity not be made available by energy producers, but without increasing the sector's total GHG emissions."

The shipping industry is starting to order new ships capable of burning alternative fuels like methanol, and the growth of ammonia bunkering is thought to be around the corner. But the supply of these fuels will need to be scaled up significantly if shipping is to meet its decarbonisation targets in the short term.