IMO Working Group Backs GHG Pricing and Centralised Fund in Net-Zero Talks

The International Maritime Organization has concluded the 22nd meeting of its Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, marking further progress toward finalising the regulatory architecture of the Net Zero Framework.

Discussions during the working group demonstrated broad support for market-based measures, with approximately two-thirds of the member states that spoke endorsing a centralised mechanism to manage carbon revenues. Under the discussed approach, economic measures would be operationalised through a greenhouse gas pricing system, referred to as an RU price.

The collected revenue would be directed into a centralised fund designed to support international maritime decarbonisation. Capital generated from emissions pricing would be disbursed to reward shipowners and operators acting as early adopters of low-carbon technologies and alternative marine fuels.

Additionally, the proposed framework aims to allocate collected funds toward supporting a just and equitable transition across the global fleet, ensuring developing maritime nations are equipped to handle the economic and technical shifts required to meet international net-zero targets.