Statement on the ongoing IMO negotiations on climate action measures in the international maritime shipping sector

In April 2025, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reached a preliminary agreement on global climate action measures for maritime shipping. This is the first time that globally binding requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have been agreed for a whole industry, including a CO₂ price. Even though the result of the negotiations fell short of the bold targets of the Federal Republic of Germany, the European Union and other ambitious countries, this can nevertheless be considered a great success in light of the current geopolitical situation.

The IMO Net-Zero Framework is to be formally adopted during a special session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee in October 2025. With a view to the upcoming vote and the lessons learned ahead of last April’s vote, a spokesman of the Federal Ministry of Transport provided the following statement:

Together with the other EU Member States and the European Commission, Germany stands firmly behind the new IMO Framework, which will bring international shipping on track to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Adoption of the new legal framework by IMO is essential to create globally uniform conditions of competition, provide industry with planning certainty for the required investments and ensure that international maritime transport makes an appropriate contribution to meeting the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals. Global challenges such as emissions from international maritime shipping require global solutions, since only a global approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions will enable us to take effective climate action and prevent distortions of competition. The Federal Government believes that multilateral organizations such as IMO play a key role in resolving conflicts of interest by negotiation. We now have a viable solution for sustainable maritime transport. By adopting the IMO measures, the international community of nations affirms its commitment to multilateralism, to our joint climate targets and to a future-proof maritime shipping sector and shows that it is aware of its responsibility.