IMO Regulations on Sustainability
11% CO2 reduction in 2026 - 70% reduction in 2050
IMO is responsible for regulating international shipping and aims for 11% carbon intensity reduction per 2026, 40% in 2030 and 70% reduction in 2050. They also aim for 50% absolute emission reductions by 2050. Virtually all rules and regulations apply to vessels of 5.000 GT and above. The most important rules and regulations for shipowners to comply with are SEEMP (includes DCS and CII), EEXI/EEDI and Emission Controlled Areas (ECAs).
Frequently Asked Questions
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The relative emissions apply to vessels and shipowners. That means a 70% reduction of emissions - as measured by CII in grams per mT * nautical mile - needs to be reduced by 70%. The 50% reduction applies to all IMO registered vessels, as in the entire world fleet. In such a way both absolute and relative emissions need to be reduced, allowing for an expansion of the world fleet in absolute terms and still significantly reducing emissions for individual vessels.
About IMO
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is in many regards the most important organization when it comes to rules and regulations for shipping on international waters. The IMO provides a mandatory framework shipowners have to comply with. These even apply within the boundaries of a sovereign state, as compliance to legislation is enforced by both class and flag state.
Since 1973, the “International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships”, abbreviated as MARPOL, is one of the most important international marine environmental conventions shipowners have to comply with. It is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes, and can therefore be considered the basic set of regulations to comply with regards to environment and sustainability.
The Convention includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships - both accidental pollution and that from routine operations - and currently includes six technical Annexes.
1. Annex I addresses the discharge of oil from ships and regulates how and when a ship may discharge oil into the sea.
2. Annex II addresses the discharge or escape of noxious liquid substances, which means chemicals in practice.
3. Annex III addresses harmful substances carried in packaged form, such as freight containers.
4. Annex IV addresses the discharge of sewage from ships.
5. Annex V addresses discharge of garbage from ships into the sea and how and when garbage may be discharged.
6. Annex VI addresses air pollution from ships, including engine emissions, ozone-depleting substances, vapour emissions from oil tankers and shipboard incineration.
The IMO dictates guidelines to limit and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping since 2000, as part of MARPOL VI. The fourth IMO GHG study was published in August 2020 envisages a reduction in carbon intensity of international shipping (a 40% reduction of average CO2 emissions per transport work by 2030 and a 70% reduction by 2050, compared to 2008) and a 50% reduction in total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050, compared to 2008.
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