Friday, 11 April 2025, marked a historic day at the International Maritime Organization in London. On this day, countries adopted a groundbreaking agreement on climate regulation for the global shipping industry. Shipping will be the first industry in the world to have such an agreement.

“The climate regulation agreement in the IMO is historic. In fact, it’s the first global climate agreement with binding targets. We are the only industry to have that. It sets requirements for how shipping must transition, making the path to the 2050 climate-neutral goal easier to follow,” said Anne H. Steffensen, CEO of Danish Shipping.

The path to a concrete regulatory agreement, following the strategy adopted in 2023 stating that global shipping must become climate-neutral around 2050, has not been straight­forward or without challenges. Earlier this week, for instance, the United States withdrew entirely from the negotiations. The key challenge has been finding a compromise that moves the industry towards this goal and is acceptable to a large group of countries with widely different starting points and interests.

“We would have liked something more ambitious. That’s clear. But I still believe it’s a great victory that an agreement has been reached which moves us in the right direction – especially against the current geopolitical backdrop. From Denmark and Europe, we have worked to make emissions even more expensive. That would have benefited the most ambitious shipping companies and at the same time generated more revenue to ensure a fair transition. But still – we’ve pitched the tent, and we’ll tighten the ropes as we go. It will take a dedicated effort leading up to the final adoption in October,” said Anne H. Steffensen.

The agreement also sends a clear signal to investors and energy producers that there will be demand for green fuels from the shipping industry. The lack of competitively priced green fuels has so far been one of the major barriers to the green transition at sea.

“The Minister for Business and Maritime Affairs and the Danish authorities, led by the Danish Maritime Authority, have made a tremendous and competent effort representing Danish shipping interests throughout the negotiations. Among other things, by tirelessly fighting for an ambitious climate agreement – and thus for the Danish shipping companies leading the industry’s transition. That continued commitment will be needed if the ambitions of the 2023 strategy are to be fulfilled,” said Anne H. Steffensen.