IMO Net-Zero Framework: the decision due on 4 Dec 2026
A global fuel standard with a price on the shortfall: agreed in draft in April 2025, adjourned in October 2025, back on the table in December.
Net-Zero FrameworkMARPOL Annex VI · draft
In brief
- Instrument
- Draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI: the IMO Net-Zero Framework
- Status at 8 Oct 2026
- Not adopted. The extraordinary session resumes on 4 Dec 2026, straight after MEPC 85
- Ships in scope
- 5,000 GT and above, as drafted
- What is measured
- Greenhouse-gas fuel intensity (GFI) of the energy used on board, well to wake, in gCO₂e/MJ
- Reference
- 93.3 gCO₂e/MJ, the 2008 value
- Reduction, base / direct compliance
- 4 % / 17 % in 2028 · 8 % / 21 % in 2030 · 30 % / 43 % in 2035
- Price of a shortfall, 2028 to 2030
- USD 100 a tonne CO₂e for Tier 1 · USD 380 a tonne CO₂e for Tier 2
- Earliest entry into force
- 1 Mar 2028, as reported after the October 2025 adjournment
What it would do
The framework sets two lines for the greenhouse-gas intensity of the energy a ship uses over a year. The stricter one is the direct compliance target; the looser one is the base target.
- Below the direct compliance line, the ship earns surplus units. They can be banked for up to two years or transferred once to another ship.
- Between the two lines, the gap is covered with Tier 1 remedial units, at USD 100 a tonne of CO₂e for 2028 to 2030.
- Above the base line, the further gap is covered with Tier 2 units, at USD 380 a tonne.
Payments would go to an IMO Net-Zero Fund.
How it got here
- Apr 2025MEPC 83 agrees the draft text.
- Oct 2025At an extraordinary session, member states vote 57 to 49 to adjourn for one year.
- 27 Apr – 1 May 2026MEPC 84 keeps the draft and sets up intersessional work on the open concerns.
- 4 Dec 2026The extraordinary session resumes, straight after MEPC 85.
What it means for operators
A ship’s intensity is set by what it burns, not by where it sails, so fuel contracts become compliance decisions. The CII rating continues alongside the framework, and so do the EU rules on EU and EEA voyages.
What to check
- Each ship’s fuel intensity today, in gCO₂e/MJ, well to wake.
- Which ships would sit above the 2028 base line on their current fuel.
- The outcome on 4 Dec 2026, and any changes made in the intersessional meetings.
Our reading at 8 Oct 2026, for planning. Not legal advice; the authority’s current text decides.
Sources
- IMO, MEPC 83, April 2025
- IMO, MEPC/ES.2, October 2025
- IMO, MEPC 84, 27 Apr – 1 May 2026