Seven NGOs and industry alliances have written a letter to the European Commission and European Union Presidency urging it to strengthen clean shipping policy in the wake of disappointing regulations agreed last month at the IMO.
The letter’s signatories include the SASHA Coalition, ZESTAs, NABU, Carbon Market Watch, the Green Hydrogen Organisation, ZERO – Associação Sistema Terrestre Sustentável, and Cittadini per l’aria onlus. The letter highlights failings in the IMO agreement to adequately boost green hydrogen and derived e-fuels, that present the only credible fuel path to clean maritime.
According to the Organizations, the weak measures agreed during MEPC 83 will leave pioneering green companies continuing to struggle to develop, at the expense of global and EU climate goals and European industry. To amend the IMO measures’ shortcomings, the letter urges the EU Commission to adopt a policy roadmap based on already planned legislation. This would include:
- Introducing financial mechanisms to support e-fuel producers in the upcoming Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (2025).
- Expanding the maritime ETS and use revenues to support e-fuels (2026).
- Strengthening e-fuel uptake targets in the FuelEU Maritime review (2027).
- Continuing to push for ambitious regulation at the IMO that incentivise e-fuel uptake.
Aurelia Leeuw of the SASHA Coalition urged the EU to fill the gap left by the IMO by backing green hydrogen to help meet climate and industrial goals. Meanwhile, Madadh MacLaine of ZESTAs warned that the IMO’s failure risks entrenching harmful fuels like biofuels and LNG and called on the EU to push for stricter, science-based fuel analysis. Additionally, Lukas Leppert of NABU highlighted the EU’s opportunity to lead where the IMO fell short and to advance net-zero shipping through stronger climate legislation.
Following the IMO MEPC 83 negotiations that closed on 11 April 2025, the SASHA Coalition expressed disappointment at the weak support for green hydrogen fuels in the agreed measures. On 17 April the Coalition also sent letters to the UK government urging similar action in response to the IMO’s inadequate regulations.
