The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is currently meeting for its 83rd session from 7 to 11 April, 2025, where nations converse and debate actions to reduce shipping emissions and shape the environmental compliance plan for the maritime industry.
Mixed signals from major economies
From 31 March to 1 April 2025, during the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 19), a coalition of African, Caribbean, Latin American, and Pacific Island (ACP+) negotiators kept the idea of a universal levy on shipping emissions alive. The Clean Shipping Coalition informs that member states agreed to continue working on the final shape of the document that looks at the levy and the global fuel standard, but failed to reach agreement on key elements including whether all GHG emissions from ships will be taxed through a levy-like economic measure, and how ambitious the decarbonisation targets will be.
Meanwhile, according to the Micronesian Center for Sustainable Transport (MCST), while some developed countries, including the EU and Canada, expressed interest in compromise, others such as Brazil, China, and the UAE voiced concern over the Marshall Islands’ draft. The UK indicated openness to parts of the Pacific-backed text. The United States remained largely silent until the end, expressing concern about fairness and scope.
Bastien Bonnet-Cantalloube, an expert on decarbonisation of aviation and shipping at Carbon Market Watch, stated that the EU’s failure to defend and uphold fair and effective carbon pricing represented a glaring weakness that undermined global climate action. He warned that, as the climate crisis continued, key decisions regarding emission pricing and credit rules for the shipping sector were approaching. He stressed that all efforts had to be mobilised to ensure meaningful carbon pricing would be included in the final compromise.
I have no doubt you will achieve the necessary compromise so at the end of the week we will be able to take another step forward in the work of this Organization to comply with the goals set out in the IMO GHG Strategy. Therefore, to set an example, I will keep it brief and hope that you follow the same example when we discuss this important topic.
… said Arsenio Dominguez, IMO Secretary-General, in his opening statement during MEPC 83.
Pacific leaders demand equity and climate ambition
Key Pacific leaders voiced strong concerns over the negotiation dynamics. Ambassador Albon Ishoda warned that the current direction risks excluding vulnerable nations, while Ministers Simon Kofe (Tuvalu) and Ralph Regenvanu (Vanuatu) reaffirmed their commitment to a global GHG levy that promotes equity and climate ambition.
Equity as a non-negotiable principle
Countries most vulnerable to climate change have strongly emphasised the need for equity—something the IMO’s GHG strategy claims to prioritise. A universal GHG pricing mechanism isn’t just one of many tools; it’s the only viable way to decarbonise shipping fairly and effectively, ensuring no one is left behind, said Anaïs Rios, Shipping Policy Officer at Seas At Risk.
A defining moment for the IMO
In any case, in the days ahead, IMO Member States face a pivotal moment—an opportunity to overcome divisions and steer together toward a unified regulatory course to net zero.
