The IMO Net-Zero Framework and the Future of Shipping Decarbonization

During the last decades, shipping decarbonization has become a critical issue in the fight against climate change. The need for the maritime industry to shift to low and zero-carbon technologies and fuels to reach climate neutrality and align with the Paris Agreement goals, along with the constant growth of global trade, presents a major challenge that can only be addressed by combining bold regulatory action, industry collaboration, and major investments. In this direction, in July 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a revised greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions strategy (2023 IMO GHG Strategy), which includes a commitment to reach net-zero GHG emissions from shipping “by or around, i.e., close to 2050” and interim checkpoints for 2030 and 2040. Since then, the IMO has worked on the adoption of a new GHG policy to meet these goals. In April 2025, the IMO reached a significant milestone in this process, as it approved the IMO Net-Zero Framework. The IMO Net-Zero Framework includes both a technical measure (the GHG fuel standard) and a GHG pricing element, and aspires to reach climate goals through the provision of economic incentives for the stimulation and acceleration of investments in renewable marine fuels. If adopted in Autumn 2026, it will become the key global policy driving shipping decarbonization in the coming decades. The recent postponement of the decision to adopt the framework is a testament to the difficult political circumstances for its adoption.

This thematic issue explores the relevance of the IMO Net-Zero Framework for shipping decarbonization at the global, regional, and national levels. We welcome articles that analyze the IMO Net-Zero Framework from the perspective of:

• Environmental effectiveness: effectiveness in reducing GHG emissions from shipping; co-benefits, e.g., in terms of development benefits related to the production and distribution of alternative bunker fuels; and potential co-harms, e.g., environmental risks related to the production and use of alternative bunker fuels.
• Interaction with EU policies and national efforts to decarbonize shipping (e.g., interactions with national action plans or sub-global policies aimed at decarbonising international shipping, such as the EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime).
• Relevance for ports and green corridors, including analyses of barriers to supplying alternative fuels or safety-related concerns.
• Economic impacts on states and the shipping industry, including effects on GDP, trade patterns, and food security.
• The just and equitable transition in the shipping sector, including the need for training and re-training the maritime workforce, seafarers' well-being, and diversity.
• Alternative fuels and other zero and near-zero-emission technologies, such as analyses of the fuels and technologies that the IMO Net-Zero Framework will incentivise.

This thematic issue will be multidisciplinary, drawing on perspectives from law, economics, policy, political science, and sociology.

Authors interested in submitting a paper for this issue are asked to consult the journal's instructions for authors and submit their abstracts (maximum of 250 words, with a tentative title) through the abstracts system (here). When submitting their abstracts, authors are also asked to confirm that they are aware that Ocean and Society is an open access journal with a publishing fee if the article is accepted for publication after peer-review (corresponding authors affiliated with our institutional members do not incur this fee).

Readers across the globe will be able to access, share, and download this issue entirely for free. Corresponding authors affiliated with any of our institutional members (over 90 institutions worldwide) publish free of charge. Otherwise, an article processing fee will be charged to the authors to cover editorial costs. We defend that authors should not have to personally pay this fee and encourage them to check with their institutions if funds are available to cover open access publication costs. Further information about the journal's open access charges can be found here.