We Need Alternative Fuels, Regulations Alone Won't Work: IMO Chief

Arsenio Dominguez urges urgent investment in clean marine fuels, warning that regulation alone won’t deliver net-zero shipping. Image Credit: Arsenio Dominguez / X

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has called for urgent investment in clean energy, warning that regulations alone will not be enough to decarbonise global shipping.

"Regulations alone cannot do the job. We need technological development, and we need alternative fuels… And that can only happen in one way – with investment," Dominguez said at the Blue Economy Finance Forum in Monaco on June 8.

The shipping industry consumes around 350 million mt of bunker fuel oil each year.

To meet ambitious net-zero shipping targets, this must be replaced with cleaner alternatives such as green methanol, ammonia or synthetic fuels, which are currently available only in limited quantities.

Scaling up production to meet demand - and making it globally available - will require substantial funding.

"Decarbonization has a cost," Dominguez said.

"We have already spent money in polluting the environment.

"It is time for all of us to invest in cleaning it, and making it sustainable for future generations."

The IMO's new Net-Zero Framework, set for adoption in October, will introduce a GHG fuel standard and a pricing mechanism for emissions.

The move is designed to incentivise low- and zero-emission fuels and reward early adopters.

But the transformation will also require port upgrades, safety rules for handling new marine fuels, and retraining nearly half a million seafarers.

"It will take ecosystems to do it together," Christine Cabau-Woehrel, EVP at CMA CGM, said.

"It will be a long and difficult journey, but we want to be running in front."

Dominguez concluded, "It's time for us to move from the statements and commitments into actions."