European shipowners push for global carbon deal as IMO summit opens in London

European shipowners enter a pivotal week for global climate policy on Monday, when the International Maritime Organization convenes MEPC 84 in London to reopen stalled talks on the Net-Zero Framework.

A coalition representing roughly half the world's merchant fleet, including leading European shipowner associations, the three largest open registries and major classification societies, has issued a joint statement urging delegates to build consensus on a binding carbon pricing mechanism for shipping. The framework, covering vessels over 5,000 gross tonnes, pairs a global fuel standard with a pricing tool to penalise higher-emitting ships.

Adoption was postponed in October 2025 after Saudi Arabia successfully moved to adjourn the extraordinary session for 12 months. The motion carried 57 votes to 49, with 21 abstentions, laying bare a split between climate-ambitious states and a bloc, backed vocally by Washington, arguing against a binding levy.

The delay has sharpened European exposure. From 1 January 2026, the EU Emissions Trading System covers 100 per cent of greenhouse-gas emissions on intra-EU voyages and half on journeys to and from third countries, with methane and nitrous oxide now included. Ship & Bunker analysis suggests EU ETS compliance could add as much as $319 per tonne of low-sulphur fuel consumed this year, a roughly 72 per cent rise on 2025. FuelEU Maritime, tightening fuel greenhouse-gas intensity, runs in parallel.

European carriers fear regulatory fragmentation if the IMO fails to deliver. A global regime would level costs against non-EU competitors on Asia-Europe lanes, where new tonnage and the tentative return of Suez routings are already pressuring rates. Without one, Brussels' unilateral carbon framework risks amplifying capital flight, with order books for alternative-fuel vessels exposed to another year of regulatory drift.