MARPOL amendments: impacts on shipping’s climate transition

Background:

International shipping accounts for around 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and remains one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. The IMO’s Net-Zero Framework represents a landmark multilateral agreement to put the sector on a pathway towards net-zero emissions by 2050, while embedding the polluter pays principle through a global carbon pricing mechanism.

The legal amendments currently under consideration will determine whether the Framework continues to provide strong incentives for investment in zero-emission fuels, contributes to achieving the goals of the IMO’s 2023 GHG Strategy and the Paris Agreement, and delivers the financial support needed for a just and equitable transition in developing countries.

What’s covered in the briefing:

A high-level analysis of how each proposal by Liberia, Brazil, Tuvalu, and Australia, aligns with the IMO’s 2023 GHG Strategy, the Paris Agreement, and States’ international legal obligations on climate change.
An evaluation of the implications for a just and equitable transition for climate vulnerable developing countries.

Recommendations:

The only proposal capable of achieving the goals of the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy, aligning the global shipping sector with the 1.5ºC goal of the Paris Agreement and complying with states’ legal obligations is Tuvalu’s proposal of a 100% direct compliance threshold. However, this ambitious proposal is unlikely to receive sufficient political support to pass a vote on adoption. 

The NZF ‘as is’, as updated in the proposal by Australia et al, is the only remaining option capable of delivering meaningful emissions reductions, supporting investment in ZNZs, and delivering a just and equitable transition.

Authors

• Sapphire Ross
• Maudie Fraser

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