News
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has officially rejected the Net-Zero Framework (NZF), which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) intends to adopt in October, and warned that it would take retaliatory measures against governments that support it. Following the U.S., Saudi Arabia has doubted the legitimacy of the NZF and expressed concern over possible trade cost increases.
Calling the IMO’s net-zero climate strategy a “global carbon tax on Americans,” Washington claims that fuel standards would benefit China and preclude the use of proven technologies that fuel global shipping fleets, including lower emissions options where U.S. industry leads such as LNG and biofuels.
For its part, Riyadh has said that imposing a tax on exhaust gas from international shipping would lead to higher food and other commodity prices and have the most serious impact on developing countries. It has pointed out that the NFZ’ authorities of raising and spending funds and imposing sanctions against non-compliance are beyond the legal scope of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
The IMO intends to finalize and potentially adopt amendments to MARPOL Annex VI when meeting for an extraordinary session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee on Oct. 14-17. If they are adopted—although adoption requires acceptance by two-thirds of the parties to MARPOL Annex VI—the NZF would take effect in March 2027. If this is the case, it would be officially introduced on Jan. 1, 2028. It is getting attention how the U.S. and Saudi Arabian official rejections will have impacts.
