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IMO net-zero proposal inches towards consensus
IMO net-zero proposal inches towards consensus
London, 1 May (Argus) — Consensus at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84) this week remained elusive, with the US leading countries opposed to the proposed Net-Zero Framework (NZF) for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. But by late Friday evening, the majority of member states eventually reached an agreement on the J7 document, which sets out future work for the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships to be held between now and November. The current proposed draft of the NZF , would require ships to reduce their fuel intensity by at least 4pc in 2028, rising to 30pc in 2035, creating a global carbon levy for shipping emissions. The creation of the NZF was approved at MEPC 83 in April 2025, but the planned approval of the regulation in October 2025 was postponed to this October because of a lack of consensus. Countries this week reviewed and debated plans for the proposed NZF, in hopes of finding consensus ahead of the October vote. Several countries this week sought to reshape the NZF proposal, with changes to the GHG pricing mechanism and global fuel intensity (GFI) guidelines. But the atmosphere at MEPC 84 was markedly more constructive than in the October meeting, some delegates told Argus . Formal adoptions at MEPC 84 focused on ballast water management, marine plastic litter and bio fouling, while discussions on the decarbonisation of the shipping industry were treated as preparatory ahead of the planned October vote. IMO officials repeatedly framed the talks as an effort to avoid a repeat of last year's breakdown and to prepare the ground for agreement later this year. Proposals by Liberia and Japan As part of the dialogue this week, member states proposed 57 amendments to the NZF. Several delegations reiterated their support for the revised NZF proposal submitted by Liberia, co-sponsored by Argentina and Panama, and a delegate told Argus this appears to be the main suggestion considered by IMO member states. The Liberian proposal calls for adjusting the Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) trajectory to reflect the demonstrated availability and uptake of low-carbon fuels, rather than fixed aspirational targets, and proposes to remove the creation of an IMO-managed fund financed by penalty payments. Under the proposal, fuels would qualify as compliant only if they meet defined viability criteria, including affordability, availability and scalability, with costs capped at no more than 15pc above conventional bunker fuels. But member states' views diverged mainly on the IMO-managed fund and the penalty payments determined in the draft on which members failed to reach consensus in October 2025. Japan's proposal also emerged strengthened from the meeting, a delegate said. The submission seeks the removal of mandatory payments to the IMO Net-Zero Fund. Instead, Japan proposes that compliance deficits should be balanced solely through market mechanisms, allowing ships to meet obligations by transferring surplus units generated by over compliant vessels. The proposal also calls for easing the Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) reduction trajectory from 2030 onwards. Continued lack of consensus The US, Russia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and others were opposed to the framework, while the EU, UK, China, Brazil and India were in favour. US delegate and Federal Maritime Commission chair Laura DiBella said the NZF is an unnecessary tax on US shippers and vessels operating in international waters. "The NZF would cost the maritime industry billions of dollars annually," DiBella said. "As the largest consumer of imported goods, these costs will be directly passed onto US consumers." Last year, the US threatened to retaliate against countries that backed the proposal. The deferral of the vote last October caused price declines in several alternative bunker fuel markets last year. Without at least a two-thirds majority consensus in favour of the framework, the IMO could potentially vote to adjourn or reject the NZF in October. Despite the conflict of views, IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez emphasised progress made in inter-sessional talks on the technical backbone of the framework, particularly GHG fuel intensity calculation guidelines, fuel certification and life cycle assessment methodologies. MEPC 84 discussions also covered how to treat technologies such as onboard carbon capture and storage (CCS), for which the IMO is drafting a future framework. The IMO on Wednesday agreed to designate the North-East Atlantic ocean as an emissions control area (ECA). This should boost demand for lower emission bunker fuels, such as very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), particularly for European LNG bunker markets, where methane slippage has increased in importance. By Madeleine Jenkins and Gabriel Tassi Lara Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU ETS benchmarks largely unchanged in latest update
EU ETS benchmarks largely unchanged in latest update
London, 30 April (Argus) — Preliminary benchmark values for calculating free allowance allocations under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) over 2026-30, presented to the European Commission's climate change committee today and seen by Argus , are largely unchanged from earlier internal figures. Of the values for 54 sectors in the EU ETS, only five have been changed from the most recent unofficial updates seen by Argus in April . The benchmark value for phenol and acetone recorded the largest proportional change — up by 26.6pc to 0.219 allowances/t. But this is still 4.8pc below 2021-25 levels. Soda ash followed, with a rise of 15.6pc from previous figures to 1.122 allowances/t, up by 49pc from 2021-25. Refinery products and aromatics benchmarks increased by 0.43pc and 1.31pc from the previous document, respectively. Companies in these sectors will now receive 0.0232 allowances/t, a rise of 1.75pc from 2021-25 levels. The benchmark for synthesis gas rose by 1.06pc from the previous draft to 0.19 allowances/t, a 1.6pc increase from 2021-25 values. And the lime benchmark has been revised up by 0.29pc from previous expectations to 0.693 allowances/t, a 4.41pc decline from 2021-25. The commission also considered indirect emissions when calculating the average greenhouse gas emissions from the 10pc most-efficient installations for its benchmark values for the heat and fuel sectors. Unchanged from the previous draft, heat and fuel benchmarks are 34pc below 2021-25 levels at 31.2 allowances/t and 28.1 allowances/t, respectively. The commission should reconsider its "mistake" of raising some benchmark values from 2021-25 levels, Austrian Green MEP Lena Schilling said today. "At a time when Europe needs huge investments in decarbonisation, handing out billions in additional free allowances undermines the integrity of the ETS and delays the transition to clean industry," Schilling said. It is "extremely shortsighted" to hand out additional free allowances in the middle of a fossil fuel crisis, Brussels-based non-governmental organisation Carbon Market Watch's policy director, Sam van den Plas, said. "The ETS benchmarks are not fit for purpose and protect the status quo instead of incentivising clean breakthrough technologies in energy-intensive sectors," he added. The regulation will be published and opened for feedback from early May to early June, the commission said, before a meeting of the climate change committee. The values are expected to be adopted in the second half of June, with free allowances to be available for issuance from the second half of July. By Kiara Campagne Nieva and Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US House readies E15 floor vote in May
US House readies E15 floor vote in May
New York, 30 April (Argus) — The US House of Representatives is planning to vote next month on a major biofuel policy reform bill after months of delays on an issue important for crop demand and fuel prices. The chamber will vote on a standalone biofuel bill on 13 May, Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) said on the House floor Thursday, after an earlier plan to pass the bill and merge it with a larger farm policy package sputtered . The latest proposal would remove summertime limits on gasoline with up to 15pc ethanol (E15), potentially encouraging broader sales of the typically-cheaper blend. It would also standardize the often-unpredictable process by which some oil refiners can win exemptions from a separate program that requires annual biofuel blending. The plan for a House vote is just the latest turn for E15 legislation, which has struggled to pass Congress for years now despite strong backing from farm-state lawmakers of both parties and a recent push from President Donald Trump. A council of Republican lawmakers had hoped to have biofuel legislation ready for a House floor vote in February, but a bloc of refiners has resisted. The latest proposal, while offering small companies automatic partial exemptions from biofuel quotas, would cut off some larger enterprises that today can win relief for smaller units they own. Under current rules, refineries that process 75,000 b/d or less of crude can request hardship exemptions — but under the proposal, only companies with no more than 75,000 b/d of collective gasoline and diesel refining capacity could win relief. There is a limited carveout in the proposal for some facilities that can prove they are at risk of closing and a system to compensate some unnamed small refinery owners for past compliance by giving them special program credits that do not expire. The framework is backed by not just farm advocates but also oil majors, who have been frustrated footing the bill for blending biofuels while some of their smaller competitors skirt the requirements. Some independent refiners remain hotly opposed, including those that would lose their ability to win exemptions and others that want deeper reforms to the biofuel mandate to temper costs. The cost to comply with the program has spiked to all-time highs, according to Argus calculations based on current credit pricing, after the Trump administration last month set blend mandates at record-high levels. It is unclear whether lawmakers will consider new changes to the existing E15 proposal — especially after oil and farm groups alike reacted coolly to the House task force's prior ideas — or if the planned vote will be punted yet again. Some Democrats have endorsed the latest deal, seeing it as a way to help out corn farmers and temper pump prices that are soaring because of war in the Middle East, and criticized Republicans for their infighting. "Forgive my skepticism, but this certainly looks like every time we have a deal for a vote on year-round E15, there is an uprising in the Republican caucus," said House Agriculture Committee ranking member Angie Craig (D-Minnesota). There are also significant obstacles to any biofuel proposal in the US Senate. Agriculture Committee chair John Boozman (R-Arkansas), who has major power over the Farm Bill that biofuel advocates hope an E15 bill could be added to, has opposed efforts to restrict mandate exemptions that have benefited a refinery in his state. While the legislation would allow but not mandate year-round sales of E15, some longtime critics of biofuels in the chamber see the proposal as a stepping stone to steeper blend requirements. "Time to end ethanol tyranny," senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) said. E15 is not sold at the vast majority of retail fuel stations in the US, which ethanol advocates blame on regulatory uncertainty deterring retailers from investing in higher-blend infrastructure. The Trump administration last month issued emergency waivers allowing continued E15 sales this summer, but permanent access requires legislation. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Cop 31 presidency takes focus off fossil fuels
Cop 31 presidency takes focus off fossil fuels
London, 30 April (Argus) — Electrification, clean cooking, methane reductions and climate finance are among the themes host Turkey and lead negotiator Australia will focus on at the UN Cop 31 climate summit in November, the two countries said today, but CO2 emissions reductions and progress in phasing out fossil fuels were lower down their list of priorities. Cop 31 president-designate Murat Kurum today presented the main themes of Turkey's action agenda — part of the Cop process outside of the formal negotiations, which includes contributions from civil society and industry. The action agenda will focus on a combination of energy security and demand, Kurum said, including increasing electrification, accelerating the buildout of renewable energy, and increasing energy efficiency. Countries must "cooperate to maintain both energy supply and prosperity as part of the transition," he said. Methane emissions reductions and clean cooking will also be a focus, as will implementing pledges made on climate financing at Cop 29 in 2024. The priorities of the Turkish presidency — electrification, clean cooking, zero waste and finance — are "themes we can all gather around," according to Stephen Jones, Australia's ambassador to the OECD. Australia is to lead the negotiations at Cop 31 while Turkey hosts the summit. Consensus on concrete actions to reduce fossil fuel consumption or drive down emissions can be difficult to find at Cops, where almost all countries are represented, including major fossil fuel producers. Australia itself is one of the largest coal and LNG exporters in the world. But "we should have no doubt about where our destination is," Jones said, even if action to maintain access to oil and traditional fossil fuel supplies is critical. And the country "strongly supports" the goal set at Cop 28 in 2023 to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, he added. Last year's Cop 30 summit in Brazil ended without references to a move away from fossil fuels in the final text. The Brazilian presidency instead launched an optional process, annual conferences on transitioning away from fossil fuels, to be attended only by willing countries, and the first of which concluded in Santa Marta, Colombia , this week. Energy watchdog the IEA's director Fatih Birol pointed to progress on electrification and emissions reductions. The rise in emissions last year was the lowest since the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, while 75pc of new generating capacity installed was renewable, nuclear generation reached an all-time high, and sales of electric vehicles climbed. But former Cop presidents warned against excessive optimism. "Things are much bleaker" than they were five years ago, the UK's Alok Sharma, president of Cop 26 in 2021, said. And France's Laurent Fabius, president of Cop 21 in 2015, warned that hard topics such as transitioning away from fossil fuels and finance would have to be discussed. "Without financial concrete steps, there's no implementation, and it's all talk", he said. By Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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