The International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced in a press release that it has agreed to adjourn the session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which was convened this week (October 14 to 17, 2025) to consider the adoption of draft amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, including the IMO Net-Zero Framework.

The session will be reconvened in 12 months. In the interim, member states will continue to work towards consensus on the IMO Net Zero Framework.

According to the press release, the Intersessional Working Group on the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, scheduled to meet from October 20 to 24, 2025, will go ahead to continue work on the guidelines for implementing the Net Zero Framework.

The IMO Net-Zero Framework was approved at the MEPC 83 session in April 2025 as a new Chapter 5 of the Draft Revised Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).

It comprises a set of international regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, in line with the IMO’s 2023 Strategy for Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships.

It includes two key elements: a global fuel standard and a global GHG emissions pricing mechanism.