IMO Net-Zero Framework Heads to ISWG-GHG 23, MEPC 85 and 4 December Extraordinary Session

The IMO’s Net-Zero Framework (NZF) faces three meetings in quick succession: ISWG-GHG 23 on 23-27 November, MEPC 85 from 30 November to 3 December, and the resumed extraordinary MEPC session scheduled for 4 December. The 22nd Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 22) ended in London on 4 September 2026 with NZF text now expected at MEPC 85. For owners, charterers and fuel buyers, the session left open how GHG revenues would be collected and distributed and deferred guideline work that shapes how the framework would apply.

What Comes Next

The next round of NZF talks, ISWG-GHG 23, is scheduled for 23-27 November, followed by MEPC 85 from 30 November to 3 December. The second extraordinary MEPC session, adjourned in October 2025, is scheduled to resume on 4 December, subject to discussions at MEPC 85. The September working-group session shaped the items on the agenda for those meetings.

What September’s Session Decided

Chair Sveinung Oftedal of Norway reported what he called a “genuine willingness” among delegations to make progress and present text to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) at its November session. According to a report by Ship & Bunker, nearly 1,200 participants registered for the meeting, held at IMO headquarters from 1 to 4 September.

The group considered unresolved concerns over draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI that would implement the NZF. MEPC 83 approved the package in April 2025, but it failed to secure adoption at an extraordinary session in October 2025. The group invited delegations to continue consultations between sessions and submit proposals that could allow timely adoption and implementation.

Guidelines and Life Cycle Work Pushed Back

Time constraints allowed the group to address draft guidelines for the mid-term measures only briefly. It did not consider the IMO’s life cycle GHG assessment framework. ISWG-GHG 23 will take up both items.

Divided Readings of the Outcome

UCL Shipping and Oceans Research Group reported that a majority of the states that spoke continue to support GHG pricing and a centralised fund to aid shipping’s transition; UCL put this at two thirds of those who took the floor. According to Ship & Bunker’s account of the UCL readout, 38 states spoke in favour of a central fund and 17 against. These figures reflect UCL’s count of statements made in the session, not a formal IMO vote. UCL also noted that delegations “robustly rejected” Japan’s alternative proposal for direct contributions.

Campaign groups offered different assessments. Transport & Environment said the talks had “drawn a blank for the third meeting in a row” and called the lack of progress toward a deal disappointing. The Clean Shipping Coalition, of which T&E is a member, said the framework “remains intact.”

During the session, the US delegation reiterated its opposition to any IMO-administered fund and outlined alternatives it could accept, including Brazil’s proposal for a financing “facility” that would differ institutionally and operationally from a fund. Separately, the IMO flagged a roughly £220,000 shortfall this year in the trust fund that supports developing-country delegates attending GHG-related meetings.

Why It Matters for Operators

Who it concerns: owners, operators, charterers and fuel buyers whose ships would come under the draft MARPOL Annex VI amendments.

Which decision it affects: fuel strategy, newbuild fuel choices and charter-party clauses that allocate future GHG costs. With no text adopted, the cost of GHG pricing under the NZF cannot yet be built into these decisions with certainty.

What is still missing: whether the extraordinary session resuming on 4 December, after MEPC 85, adopts the framework; whether revenues would flow through a central fund or an alternative such as the proposed facility or direct contributions; and the guidelines and life cycle assessment framework, which determine how fuels’ emissions are counted and were deferred to ISWG-GHG 23.