DECARBONISATION A COURSE WE CAN NO LONGER IGNORE

Most people on shore do not think twice about how their phones, clothes, or coffee beans travel across oceans. But those of us who have stood watch at 0200 hrs know the truth: ships burn through 300 million tons of fuel every year, coughing out nearly 3 percent of global CO2 emissions.

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For decades, the industry sailed under the radar, hard to police and harder to pinpoint responsibility. That changed when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) planted its marker in 2018, pledging to cut shipping emissions by half by 2050. Today, the momentum is stronger, the spotlight brighter, and the course correction unavoidable.

IMO’s New Winds of Change

Since 2023, the IMO has pushed out its most ambitious climate strategy yet. The revised greenhouse gas roadmap now aims for:

• Net zero GHG emissions by or around 2050.

• A major uptake of zero and near zero GHG fuels by 2030.

• Industry wide intensity reductions starting this decade.

In April 2025 came a breakthrough: IMO members agreed on the world's first global emissions pricing and fuel standard mechanism for shipping. This framework, targeting rollout around 2027 to 2028, includes a Global Fuel Standard (life cycle GHG rating), a Global Economic Measure (carbon pricing for high emitters and credits for low emitters), and the IMO Net Zero Fund to support green fuel production, retrofits, and developing nations. Adoption timelines may slide, but the direction is set: global rules and global accountability.