IMO's Shipping Net-Zero Framework Heads to Crucial April Session After US-Led Blockade Delayed Adoption by a Year
MEPC 84 convenes April 27 in London for the first regular session since a US-Saudi coalition blocked adoption of the first global carbon pricing system for shipping in October 2025.
Overview
The International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee will convene its 84th session (MEPC 84) in London from April 27 to May 1, marking the first regular meeting since an extraordinary session in October 2025 ended in a bitter adjournment over the proposed Net-Zero Framework. The framework, which would establish the world’s first mandatory carbon pricing and fuel-intensity reduction system for an entire industry, was approved in principle at MEPC 83 in April 2025 but was blocked from formal adoption after a coalition led by the United States and Saudi Arabia secured a one-year delay.
With 57 documents submitted for the greenhouse gas reduction agenda item alone, MEPC 84 is expected to serve as a critical temperature check on whether the 175-nation body can build enough consensus to adopt the framework at a reconvened extraordinary session later in 2026.
What the Net-Zero Framework Would Do
The framework, approved at MEPC 83 on April 11, 2025, combines two mechanisms into what UN News described as a landmark agreement: a global fuel standard that progressively lowers the greenhouse gas intensity of marine fuels, and a pricing mechanism that requires high-emitting ships to pay for excess pollution.
Under the framework, ships exceeding fuel-intensity thresholds would be required to purchase remedial units, while those using zero or near-zero emission fuels would earn financial rewards. According to Carbon Brief, ships failing the lower emissions target would pay $380 per unit into a new IMO Net-Zero Fund, while those meeting the lower target but missing the upper target would pay $100 per unit. The fund is projected to generate $11 to $12 billion annually in its first three years.
The regulations would apply to all ocean-going vessels exceeding 5,000 gross tonnage, a category responsible for roughly 85 percent of international shipping’s carbon dioxide emissions, as reported by UN News. International shipping as a whole accounts for nearly 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and handles approximately 80 percent of world trade.
The October 2025 Blockade
The framework was originally scheduled for formal adoption at an extraordinary MEPC session from October 14 to 17, 2025. Instead, as Euronews reported, the session ended without adoption after 57 member states voted to adjourn for one year, while 49 voted to continue negotiations and 21 abstained.
The United States led the opposition. President Trump characterized the proposal as a “Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping” and stated the US “would not adhere to it in any way, shape or form,” according to Euronews. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the outcome as “a huge win,” framing it as protection of consumers from what he called a “massive UN tax hike.”
A joint statement issued in August 2025 by Secretaries Rubio, Lutnick, Wright, and Duffy called the framework “effectively a global carbon tax on Americans levied by an unaccountable UN organization,” as published by the U.S. Department of Energy. The statement argued that the fuel standards would “benefit China by requiring the use of expensive fuels unavailable at global scale” and would “preclude the use of proven technologies” such as liquefied natural gas and biofuels.
Saudi Arabia initiated the adjournment motion that passed the vote. Several nations that had supported the framework at MEPC 83 shifted positions: Japan and South Korea abstained after previously voting in favor, while Greece and Cyprus also abstained, weakening European unity on the issue.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres characterized the outcome as “a missed opportunity for Member States to place the shipping sector on a clear, credible path towards net-zero emissions,” according to UN News. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez urged delegates to “take this moment to learn from it,” emphasizing that “there are no winners and losers.”
What Is at Stake at MEPC 84
While MEPC 84 is not the session where formal adoption will be attempted, the meeting will shape whether the reconvened extraordinary session later in 2026 succeeds or fails. The committee is expected to establish a Working Group on GHG Reduction and advance implementation guidelines that were originally scheduled for approval in spring 2026, including fuel certification standards, life cycle assessment methodologies, and the design of the IMO Net-Zero Fund.
The session will also initiate Phase 2 of the review of the IMO’s short-term greenhouse gas reduction measures, including the Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) rating scheme. As Euronews noted, the IMO aims to strengthen the CII to target 30 percent emission reductions by 2030, though experts warn this measure alone is insufficient.
A coalition of 87 maritime, energy, and technology companies has formally called on member states to adopt the framework in 2026, arguing that further delays risk undermining capital commitments to green fuel production and bunkering infrastructure. The signatories include major ports handling more than 340 million tonnes of cargo annually and listed companies with a combined market value of approximately $140 billion. Several have linked final investment decisions for alternative fuel facilities directly to the introduction of predictable global regulation.
What We Don’t Know
Whether the political dynamics that blocked adoption in October 2025 have shifted remains unclear. The US position appears unchanged, and no public signals from Saudi Arabia, Japan, or South Korea suggest a reversal of their October stances. The final well-to-wake greenhouse gas conversion factors for biofuels and LNG, which are critical for determining compliance costs, are not expected until the second quarter of 2026 and may not be ready in time for the meeting.
The framework requires adoption by a two-thirds majority of member states representing at least 50 percent of world tonnage. If the October 2026 extraordinary session again fails to adopt the framework, the earliest possible entry into force would slip to 2030, well past the IMO’s own target of achieving a 20 to 30 percent reduction in shipping emissions by that year. Without a global framework, the risk of a fragmented patchwork of regional regulations, such as the EU’s existing Emissions Trading System for shipping, would increase.