The International Maritime Organization (IMO) maintains its plans to approve the decarbonization plans for the world’s commercial fleet next October, despite the setback suffered last year, when several countries, led by the United States and Saudi Arabia, prevented its approval by requesting more time to study it.
The Secretary General of the IMO, Panamanian Arsenio Domínguez, held a press conference today in London in which he acknowledged that several countries, again led by the US, want the plan to now include technical but not economic measures, and specifically that it does not require that those ships that pollute the most pay a higher fee for their emissions.
The plan that must be voted on again in October by the 170 IMO member countries provides incentives for commercial ships to progressively abandon fuel oil and replace it with clean energy, including nuclear, with two deadlines: a minimum reduction of 20% in emissions by 2030, a maximum of 80% for 2040 and 100% for 2050.
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But Domínguez insisted that, beyond the reluctance of these countries – which also include Greece, China and the Bahamas – the objectives have not been abandoned and there are undeniable advances such as the fact that the new ships being built are increasingly more energy efficient.
In any case, ‘climate denialism’ and the attacks on the multilateral institutions now championed by Donald Trump’s Government have not affected the presence or economic contribution of the US to the IMO, as he clarified.
On the other hand, Domínguez said that in a complicated geopolitical environment, especially in the Black Sea and the Red Sea, maritime traffic nevertheless grew by 1.3% in 2025.
He acknowledged that other problems remain to be resolved, such as the fate of the abandoned ships – which he estimated at 405 at this time – and the captures of commercial vessels by some States (Venezuelan by the US or Russian by France or the United Kingdom), an action in which his organization has no powers to prevent it.
With information from EFE
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