In a recent meeting with journalists to mark the start of the 82nd Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting (MEPC 82), Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), expressed confidence that the shipping industry is on track to adopt a global pricing mechanism aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposed mechanism, which forms part of the IMO's strategy to decarbonise the shipping sector, is expected to generate funds to support the industry's transition to lower-carbon operations. While acknowledging that details are still being negotiated, Dominguez remains optimistic that the mechanism will be approved at MEPC 83.
However, Dominguez was keen to state that the goal is not to raise revenue for its own sake. Instead, the mechanism will be designed to avoid negatively impacting shipping companies and the broader global economy.
‘We need to be very careful with how we're going to do a collection that is not going to have a negative impact on member states and the fleet,’ Dominguez said. ‘Otherwise, everybody will be negatively impacted because prices, commodities will go up.’
While specifics, such as the level of pricing and the distribution of funds, are yet to be finalised, the Secretary-General described the importance of balancing the needs of the shipping industry with broader climate efforts. He suggested that while the primary focus should be on supporting the shipping sector, some funds could also go toward assisting climate-vulnerable nations.
Dominguez remains confident that the IMO’s greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2030 can still be met through a combination of existing measures and the forthcoming pricing mechanism. Despite concerns from some in the industry about the ambitious timeline, Dominguez cited the operational measures already in place and mid-term measures set to come into effect in 2027, which will further aid the transition.
Dominguez was also questioned about the lack of global bunkering infrastructure for renewable fuels, which remains a significant barrier to the widespread adoption of alternative fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, and biofuels. The Secretary-General highlighted that IMO itself does not have the capacity to directly fund or build the necessary infrastructure.
‘We work on awareness, we work on the promotion of the actions that need to be taken by the state,’ he said. ‘The organisation has limitations—we can't fund and build infrastructure in countries. We just don't have the capacity,’ he said.
Drawing a parallel to the earlier transition to LNG, Dominguez pointed out that infrastructure challenges are not new to the shipping sector, but the industry has historically been able to adapt. ‘We saw it when we were moving towards LNG—there wasn’t the infrastructure available in every part of the world, but again, shipping can adapt and change.’
Dominguez acknowledged that the regulatory process for international conventions takes time, with many elements of the pricing mechanism and fuel infrastructure still evolving. However, he reiterated the IMO's commitment to keeping the sector on track toward its decarbonisation goals, ensuring that both short- and mid-term measures continue to support the transition.
‘We’re not introducing a measure just for the sake of collecting a lot of money,’ Dominguez said. ‘This is a transition, and it is embedded in the strategy. That’s why the mid-term measures are there.’
