Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Opportunity Green, Seas At Risk, and Transport & Environment have jointly called on states to include their international shipping emissions in their national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), under the Paris Agreement.
Strengthening Ocean Protection
As world leaders and maritime stakeholders convene at the UN’s Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice from June 9-13, discussions are underway to strengthen ocean protection and sustainability, with a significant focus on decarbonizing the shipping industry.
A key proposal being debated, particularly in the lead-up to COP30 in Brazil, is the inclusion of shipping in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). NDCs are climate action plans submitted by countries under the Paris Agreement, outlining their efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to climate change. Including shipping in NDCs would provide countries with a stronger mandate to address the industry’s emissions, allowing for the introduction of new national and regional policies and accelerating the sector’s energy transition. Several legal analyses support this, arguing that shipping falls under the Paris Agreement’s scope of “economy-wide emission” coverage, and its current exclusion represents a “glaring gap” in most countries’ climate plans.
A significant step forward in international maritime climate governance is the recent approval of the draft International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework at the 83rd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83). This framework is hailed as “a historic milestone.” If adopted in October 2025, it will introduce the first-ever, legally binding global measure for shipping to generate revenues through penalties on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, integrated within a marine fuels standard. The overarching goal is to achieve the IMO’s 2023 Revised Strategy emission reduction targets, which include:
- A reduction in the carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030 (compared to 2008 levels).
- An increase in the uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission technologies, fuels, and/or energy sources to represent at least 5%, striving for 10%, of the energy used by international shipping by 2030.
- Reaching net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by or around 2050.
These global efforts complement existing regional regulations, such as the European Union’s extension of its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to shipping in 2024 and its FuelEU Maritime regulation (in force since 2025), which sets lifecycle GHG emission-intensity requirements on large vessels. The urgency for these measures is underscored by the fact that the shipping sector already accounts for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a contribution that could swell to 5-8% by 2050 if no action is taken, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Did you subscribe to our Daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: Offshore Energy
