The European Union is ready to consider alternatives to the IMO Net-Zero Framework, provided any replacement still delivers well-to-wake net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions from international shipping by or around 2050 and is written into MARPOL Annex VI, according to Council of the EU document ST 11601/26 REV 2.
The draft submission, prepared for the International Maritime Organization’s 22nd Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships, marks a willingness to address objections to the proposed global rules without weakening the IMO’s 2023 climate targets.
The Presidency compromise proposal was circulated for the Council’s Working Party on Shipping meeting on 17 July. It remained under discussion and its full text was not publicly accessible. The draft expresses a “readiness to consider proposals on how to address concerns” with the planned amendments, as long as the final package remains aligned with the 2023 IMO GHG Strategy. Any alternative would have to achieve net-zero emissions on a well-to-wake basis by or around 2050, stimulate the energy transition from the start of implementation, remain enforceable while providing flexibility to avoid stranded assets, and support a just and equitable transition through “clear and plausible” investment funding.
The measure would also have to be incorporated into MARPOL Annex VI and adopted through the convention’s tacit acceptance procedure. It should be enforceable by port and flag states under the principles of non-discrimination and no more favourable treatment. The proposal recognises that some ships may be unable to meet greenhouse-gas fuel-intensity targets because of technical constraints or limited access to lower-emission fuels. It allows for flexibility to reduce cost and disruption while keeping direct cuts in the greenhouse-gas intensity of onboard energy as the preferred compliance route.
Funding should enable developing countries, particularly small island developing states and least developed countries, to participate in the transition and develop production capacity for zero- and near-zero-emission fuels. The draft does not endorse or reject any individual marine fuel and contains no specific position on biofuels, crop-based feedstocks or indirect land-use change. It also notes that the EU Emissions Trading System and FuelEU Maritime contain review provisions that would apply if the IMO adopts a global shipping measure.
The IMO approved the draft Net-Zero Framework in April 2025 as amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, combining a global marine-fuel standard with a greenhouse-gas pricing mechanism. Formal adoption was postponed in October 2025. The IMO’s 2023 strategy targets emissions cuts of at least 20%, while striving for 30%, by 2030 and at least 70%, while striving for 80%, by 2040, against a 2008 baseline. The framework would cover oceangoing ships above 5,000 gross tonnes, representing more than 85% of global shipping emissions.