Liner giants headline call for IMO action at COP 28

The joint statement called for closer collaboration with IMO regulators to produce the effective and concrete policy measures needed to underpin the investment within maritime shipping and its ancillary industries.

The joint declaration identified four key regulatory objectives:

• An end date for new building of fossil fuel-only vessels and a clear GHG Intensity Standard timeline to inspire investment confidence, both for new ships and the fuel supply infrastructure needed to accelerate the energy transition.
• An effective GHG pricing mechanism to make green fuel competitive with black fuel during the transition phase when both are used. This can be done by distributing the premium for the green fuels across all the fossil fuel used. 
• A vessel pooling option for GHG regulatory compliance where the performance of a group of vessels could count instead of only that of individual ships, ensuring investments are made where they achieve the greatest GHG reduction and thereby accelerating decarbonisation across the global fleet.
• A Well-to-Wake or lifecycle GHG regulatory basis to align investment decisions with climate interests and mitigate the risk of stranded assets.

The ceos noted that the GHG pricing mechanism must also feature an increasing regulatory incentive to achieve deeper emissions reductions. The signatories also called for the revenue generated by the mechanism to go to an RD&D fund and to help to fund investments in developing countries.

The unprecedented joint statement underlined the conviction among leading players in the shipping industry that regulation can play a key role in mitigating the cost of the green transition.