SL-African maritime experts urge safeguards over IMO carbon curbs

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Africa has come up with a raft of recommendations as it seeks to address material risks and catalytic opportunities for African economies presented by the Net Zero Framework (NZF) on addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping to be implemented by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) members aim to build regional value chains and strengthen Africa's competitiveness in a decarbonising global economy under existing continental policies as the IMO seeks to reduce emissions.

Several resolutions were recently reached at a technical workshop of AAMA members at a Mombasa hotel with the support of the office of Kenya’s special envoy for climate change Mr Ali Mohamed.

It was addressed by Mr Mohamed and the AAMA chairman and Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) director general, CPA Omae Nyarandi, among others.

The IMO NZF was approved in April 2025, establishing a global regulatory pathway toward net zero emissions from international shipping around 2050, and is scheduled for consideration for adoption by the IMO in October 2026.

In October 2025, IMO postponed the adoption of its NZF for one year following intense opposition from a coalition led by the United States and Saudi Arabia. 

At the recent Mombasa forum, the AAMA technical team resolved that Africa jointly recommend priority remedial/mitigation actions within the IMO process to reduce the adverse impacts of the NZF on African economies and trade, and to strengthen fairness and implementability.

“Requests AAMA to consolidate member states' proposals into a single African technical submission package with options and redlines ahead of key IMO milestones,” the experts recommended.

The AAMA members also resolved to advocate for the equitable implementation of the NZF to avoid disproportionate freight cost increases and adverse trade impacts on African states.

They want the promotion of transitional flexibility, phased compliance pathways, and capacity-building support reflecting differentiated readiness levels.

The members recommended advocacy for fair allocation of revenues from global maritime carbon pricing, with a defined share supporting developing countries, particularly in Africa.

The technical team resolved to pursue coordinated engagement with development partners, climate funds, and the private sector to finance port and corridor transition investments, green fuel supply chain development, capacity building for maritime administrations, and impact mitigation for vulnerable economies.

“Requests AAMA, in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and partners, to develop a continental support programme concept for NZF readiness and maritime transition implementation aligned with Africa's green industrialisation objectives,” the team resolved.

The team resolved that Africa pursue a strategic, unified, and opportunity-driven voice in IMO deliberations, grounded in evidence and continental priorities.

It requested AAMA, in collaboration with AUC and member states, to develop a structured coordination model for Africa's IMO engagement (including pre-IMO alignment, negotiation readiness, and post-session follow-through), drawing on best practice.

The team called for development and endorsement of joint African messages on the NZF that safeguard Africa from disproportionate negative impacts and promote equity and climate justice in the transition.

“(The meeting) calls for Africa's position to be supported by a clear impact-to-opportunity narrative, including port-led industrialisation and green-fuel value chains,” said the report.

The team recommended improving Africa's evidence-based research by coordinating data collection and analytic approaches across member states for NZF-related impact and opportunity assessments.

It requested AAMA to develop a practical NZF readiness scorecard framework for member states (building on workshop discussions on balancing impacts and opportunities).

The AAMA experts also recommended the establishment AAMA-led technical workstreams on economic and social impact assessment of NZF on member states, green fuels and bunkering readiness (production, standards readiness, safety, permitting), port and corridor readiness (infrastructure, equipment, operational transition plans, port-led industrialisation) and seafarers and skills (training needs and opportunities to grow Africa's seafarer supply and related maritime jobs).

The experts requested each workstream to prepare a concise deliverables package suitable for AU policy consideration and for negotiation support in the IMO process.

The technical team affirmed AAMA as the executing continental body for maritime matters in Africa, including coordination of technical maritime administration cooperation and Africa's collective engagement on global maritime policy processes.

It further recommended that AAMA's executing mandate, under the overall policy guidance of the AU policy organs and in collaboration with the relevant AUC departments, and regional maritime bodies, shall carry out continental coordination on IMO processes and maritime decarbonisation pathways.

AAMA shall also harmonise support for maritime administration capacity and standards, facilitate continent-wide technical programmes on safety, security, marine environmental protection, and maritime trade facilitation, and convene technical working groups and expert networks on priority maritime matters.

The team recommended the establishment or strengthening of an operational coordination mechanism with AAMA, such as a joint coordination framework, focal points, an agreed annual work plan, and reporting lines.

The technical team recommended aligning Africa's maritime transition efforts with African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) trade facilitation and maritime integration priorities, including the resilience and competitiveness of African supply chains.

It further recommended the integration of shipping's energy transition into Africa's green industrialisation initiatives and port-city industrial clustering strategies.

The experts requested AAMA to prepare an implementation roadmap with clear timelines from February 2026 up to October 2026, covering coordination milestones, technical outputs, and requests for submission proposals and feedback timelines.

It recommended convening periodic technical check-ins (virtual or in-person) for member states to track progress on the agreed work streams and negotiation readiness.