Germany has reiterated its backing for the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework, describing the inclusion of a carbon pricing mechanism as essential for shipping’s climate transition.
The commitment comes against the backdrop of growing US resistance.
The IMO framework, agreed in principle at MEPC 83 in April and set for adoption this October, would introduce the first binding global measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, including a CO₂ levy.
The Trump administration has been pressing IMO member states to oppose the plan, with reports suggesting Washington has warned that countries backing the deal could face tariffs or visa restrictions.
US officials have dismissed the carbon pricing element as a “global tax” that would raise costs for American businesses and consumers.
“Adoption of the new legal framework by IMO is essential to create globally uniform conditions of competition, provide industry with planning certainty for the required investments and ensure that international maritime transport makes an appropriate contribution to meeting the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals,” a German transport ministry spokesman said in a statement on 9 September.
While Berlin and other EU states had argued for more ambitious targets, they welcomed the framework as a breakthrough for global multilateralism. Germany insists that only a global regime can prevent competitive distortions and provide the shipping industry with long-term certainty for decarbonisation investments
