Photo by Chuttersnap
Global negotiations on binding greenhouse gas rules for shipping have been delayed again, after the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee concluded its 84th session in London on 1 May without reaching agreement on the IMO Net-Zero Framework.
The talks, held at IMO headquarters from 27 April to 1 May, brought together nearly 100 delegations. The framework, which would combine a mandatory fuel intensity standard with a carbon pricing mechanism for the international shipping industry, had already suffered a significant setback when an extraordinary session in October 2025 ended in adjournment after member states failed to reach consensus. Lloyd’s Register’s summary of the session noted that “finding a compromise position between those advocating for the draft Net-Zero Framework to be adopted with minimal change and those in favour of a market readiness approach was not possible.”
What was agreed and what wasn’t
Discussions on both the regulatory framework and its supporting guidelines will now continue at two intersessional working group meetings ahead of MEPC 85, which is tentatively scheduled for 30 November to 3 December 2026, with a resumed extraordinary session pencilled in for the following day. The European Commission, welcoming the outcome, said it “stands firmly behind the shared objective of global shipping reaching net-zero emissions by 2050” and would continue pushing for an ambitious global framework.
The delay matters because the framework, if eventually adopted, would make shipping the first entire industry sector subject to binding, globally enforced emissions reductions, covering roughly 85% of international shipping’s CO₂ output from vessels over 5,000 gross tonnage.
Concrete outcomes from the meeting
Despite the headline impasse on the Net-Zero Framework, MEPC 84 delivered a significant range of other environmental decisions. Most notably for UK waters, the committee adopted a new Emission Control Area in the North-East Atlantic, covering waters up to 200 nautical miles from the coasts of Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal. From 2027–28, ships operating in the zone will be required to use low-sulphur fuel and reduce nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide and particulate matter emissions; a measure aimed at improving air quality and reducing health risks for coastal communities.
The committee also adopted a new 2026 Strategy on Marine Plastic Litter, reaffirming a target of zero plastic discharge from ships by 2030, and agreed to develop a mandatory code for transporting plastic pellets – a persistent source of marine pollution. A legally binding biofouling management framework is now being developed, with adoption targeted by 2029.
On ballast water, amendments to the Ballast Water Management Convention were finalised. Under the new requirements, ships must now demonstrate that their ballast water management systems are operational and achieving the required biological standards, not simply that the systems are installed and certified. The measure tightens a loophole that had undermined the convention’s effectiveness in controlling the spread of invasive marine species.
The committee also approved terms of reference for a fifth IMO GHG Study, which will update global emissions inventories and projections and feed into a planned review of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy in 2028.
The road ahead
The trajectory toward binding rules remains politically fraught. Geopolitical tensions, disagreements over carbon pricing revenues and the pace of the fuel transition continue to divide member states. The September intersessional meeting and MEPC 85 in November will be critical junctures, with December’s resumed extraordinary session likely to be the next genuine opportunity for adoption of the framework. Until then, the industry faces continued regulatory uncertainty at a time when investment decisions on alternative fuels and vessel design are already being made.