The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has taken another step toward establishing a legally binding framework to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships globally, aiming for net-zero emissions by or around close to 2050.
The draft regulations will set mandatory marine fuel standards and GHG emissions pricing for shipping to address climate change.
The IMO said in a statement that the net-zero framework is the first in the world to combine mandatory emissions limits and GHG pricing across an entire industry sector.
It was approved by the Marine Environment Protection Committee during its 83rd session (MEPC 83) from April 7-11, 2025, and the measures include a new fuel standard for ships and a global pricing mechanism for emissions.
Regulations set to be enforced in 2027
IMO said these measures, set to be formally adopted in October 2025 before entry into force in 2027, will become mandatory for large ocean-going ships over 5,000 gross tonnage, which emit 85% of the total CO2 emissions from international shipping.
"The approval of draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI mandating the IMO net-zero framework represents another significant step in our collective efforts to combat climate change, to modernize shipping, and demonstrates that IMO delivers on its commitments," said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.
"Now, it is important to continue working together, engaging in dialogue and listening to one another, if we are to create the conditions for successful adoption," he added.
IMO noted that the goal is to achieve the climate targets set out in the 2023 IMO Strategy on the Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships, accelerate the introduction of zero and near-zero GHG fuels, technologies, and energy sources, and support a just and equitable transition.
Under the draft regulations, ships will be required to comply with a global fuel standard, where ships must reduce, over time, their annual greenhouse gas fuel intensity (GFI); ships emitting above GFI thresholds will have to acquire remedial units to balance its deficit emissions, while those using zero or near-zero GHG technologies will be eligible for financial rewards.
There will also be two levels of compliance with GHG Fuel Intensity targets: a Base Target and a Direct Compliance Target at which ships would be eligible to earn "surplus units".
Ships that emit above the set thresholds can balance their emissions deficit by transferring surplus units from other ships, using surplus units they have already banked, and using remedial units acquired through contributions to the IMO Net-Zero Fund.
The IMO Zet-Zero Fund will be established to collect pricing contributions from emissions. These revenues will then be disbursed to reward low-emission ships; support innovation, research, infrastructure, and just transition initiatives in developing countries; and fund training, technology transfer, and capacity building to support the IMO GHG Strategy.
The IMO Net-Zero Framework will be included in a new Chapter 5 of Annex VI (Prevention of air pollution from ships) to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
MARPOL Annex VI currently has 108 Parties, covering 97% of the world's merchant shipping fleet by tonnage, and already includes mandatory energy efficiency requirements for ships.
