As IMO Member States are set to vote in the week of 13 October on crucial amendments to the MARPOL Convention, IAPH Managing Director urges all stakeholders to support a global economic measure, warning that a mixture of national and regional measures could spell a “disaster for the maritime energy transition.”
Speaking at an event on decarbonisation of shipping organised by Accelleron at London International Shipping Week yesterday, IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven issued a stark warning about the consequences of having a negative outcome from the upcoming vote to adopt the IMO’s Net Zero Framework (NZF) measures at the extraordinary MEPC meeting which will take place in mid October.
Prior to MEPC80 way back in July 2023, IAPH submitted a call with others for an economic measure which would close the gap in pricing between hydrocarbon and low and zero carbon fuels. Such a measure would also assist funding very necessary investments in research and development to accelerate the energy transition of shipping as well as supporting the vital port infrastructure investments to guarantee the supply of those new fuels, particularly in developing countries who will otherwise be marginalised.
Since then, IAPH has consistently supported the adoption of introducing a global fuel standard for shipping and an economic measure, which consists of a pricing mechanism and credit trading scheme to drive down emissions and fund the transition to zero and low carbon fuels.
IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven called upon IMO Member States to vote in favour of the amendments: “Adopting the IMO Net Zero Framework which was agreed upon last April will send a clear signal to industry, providing the incentive that is needed for the uptake of new low and zero carbon fuels. IAPH supports the 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.”
MTBS study commissioned by IAPH estimates total investment needs for port adaptation and mitigation in developing countries of between 55 and 83 billion US Dollars
Last year, IAPH submitted a report to the IMO presenting the findings of a study it commissioned from Maritime & Transport Business Solutions (MTBS) to make on port climate adaptation and decarbonisation investment needs of developing nations. The report highlights how the IMO Net Zero Fund can be used to help developing countries invest in adaptation and mitigation measures in their ports, by providing a reserve to support the just transition of these countries. The costs of port decarbonisation infrastructure will vary widely depending on port size, location, existing infrastructure, existing activities, prior adaptation and mitigation plans. However, supported by numerous cases studies in developing countries, the report estimated that the total investment needs for port adaptation and mitigation in developing countries roughly amounts to between 55 to 83 billion USD.
IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven concluded: “A failure to adopt the Framework would create absolute investment uncertainty, both for shipping companies and ports, and with that significantly delay the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. Achieving IMO’s net zero targets would become impossible. It would most likely lead to more regional decarbonisation measures for shipping, adding to those already introduced through the Emission Trading Scheme by the EU. This will result in a complex regulatory patchwork which will be extremely challenging for ship owners and operators to comply with and which will have unintended consequences like we have already seen in the case of Europe. A mixture of national and regional measures could spell a disaster for the maritime energy transition.”
Notes to editors:
At the decarbonisation event yesterday at London International Shipping Week, Accelleron presented a report with proposals to solve the deadlock of shipping’s carbon-neutral fuel transition. The report suggests that ports may hold the key to unlocking more coordinated and focused investment, given their central role as shared infrastructure serving multiple hard-to-abate sectors, including steel, cement, chemicals, power, and aviation.
IAPH recently broadcasted a webinar hosted by Mercator “How will the upcoming IMO MEPC decisions in 2025 impact ports?” with interventions from numerous experts from IAPH, the development banking sector and advanced member ports. To rewatch the webinar click here.
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 200 port authorities as well as 173 port-related businesses. Comprised of over 94 different nationalities across the world’s continents, member ports handle over one third of the world’s sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world container traffic. IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on decarbonisation and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalisation in the maritime transport chain. The IAPH’s World Ports Sustainability Program has grown into the reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their businesses - iaphworldports.org.
IMO mission to Pacific courtesy of IMO. Image of Patrick Verhoeven copyright: © Steve Franck