The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has called the postponement of a decision on the International Maritime Organization’s Net Zero Framework a significant blow to efforts to decarbonise global shipping. IMO Member States, meeting at a special session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), voted to adjourn adoption of amendments to the MARPOL Convention that would enable implementation of the Framework. The adjournment effectively delays a decision for one year. The vote outcome was 57 in favor of adjournment, 49 opposed, and 21 abstentions.
Adjournment stalls IMO Net Zero Framework for one year
The Net Zero Framework under consideration is designed to accelerate emissions reductions across international shipping. It comprises a global fuel standard for shipping and an economic measure that includes a pricing mechanism and credit trading scheme. Together, these tools aim to drive down greenhouse gas emissions and channel funding toward the transition to low and zero carbon fuels at sea and on land. IAPH argues the industry requires a predictable, universal regime to align investment decisions and avoid regulatory divergence.
Reacting to the vote, IAPH managing director Patrick Verhoeven stated: “This is a major setback for the maritime industry. Shipping and ports need a global framework that provides them with legal certainty to make the necessary investments in decarbonisation. Only IMO can provide such a framework. We don’t know what this adjournment will lead to, but we fear it will simply open the door for more national and regional measures, which will add to an already complex regulatory patchwork resulting in unintended consequences.”
Central to IAPH’s position is the role of the IMO’s economic measure in narrowing the price gap between hydrocarbon fuels and low and zero carbon alternatives. According to IAPH, a global economic measure would help fund critical research and development, accelerate the energy transition of shipping, and support vital port infrastructure investments needed to ensure the supply of new fuels. These investments are particularly pressing in developing countries, which the association warns risk being marginalised without targeted support and globally consistent rules.
The association also underscored the uncertainty introduced by deferring the Framework. “The adjournment of the IMO Net Zero Framework now spells uncertainty about the incentives that are needed for the uptake of new low and zero carbon fuels,” Verhoeven concluded. “We continue to support a global economic measure as it will also provide vital funding for infrastructure investments in ports of developing countries, in order for them not to be left behind in the energy transition.” In IAPH’s view, postponement heightens the prospect of disparate national or regional approaches and complicates compliance for market participants.
The MEPC decision was taken at the committee’s second extraordinary session, held from 14 to 17 October 2025. IAPH maintains that a unified IMO-led framework remains essential to give shipowners, fuel suppliers, and port authorities the clarity required to commit capital to decarbonisation projects. The association cautions that a prolonged delay could slow deployment of alternative fuels, hinder port readiness for bunkering and storage, and frustrate efforts to direct resources to where they are most needed, especially in emerging and developing countries.
For ports, the stakes involve long-term planning for infrastructure, including storage, safety systems, and supply chains for low and zero carbon fuels. For shipowners and operators, the timing and contours of the economic measure and related incentives will shape fleet renewal and fuel procurement strategies. IAPH emphasizes that only a consistent, global regime can prevent a patchwork of rules that raises costs, creates market distortions, and produces the “unintended consequences” it warned about following the adjournment. Until the decision is revisited, the sector faces a period of reduced visibility on the policy instruments intended to enable the transition.
