Danish Shipping is participating in the UN climate conference COP30 in Belém, Brazil, with plans to strengthen cooperation with ambitious partner countries following the postponement of a crucial vote on global shipping regulation at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The organisation will also host a COP30 side event titled “Green transition of shipping: With or without the IMO,” where it plans to push for strengthened global alliances amid what it describes as a major setback for international climate policy in shipping.

The delay refers to the October vote at IMO headquarters in London, where member states opted to postpone adoption of the Net-Zero Framework by one year. The framework, provisionally agreed in April, would have established greenhouse-gas emission standards and a global carbon-pricing mechanism for ships. The decision to defer the vote followed opposition led by the United States, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia during an extraordinary session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) on 17 October.

Nina Porst, Executive Director of Climate, Environment and Security at Danish Shipping, said: "After last month's disappointment in London, it is more important than ever that we focus on strengthening communities and alliances with like-minded, climate-ambitious partners from around the world. This will bolster the work in the IMO over the next year, when we must continue to fight tooth and nail for the best possible agreement. Because it is, of course, through and within the IMO that we must tackle the major challenge posed by the green transition of shipping."

According to the IMO's studies, shipping accounts for approximately 2.2% to 3.1% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with the Fourth IMO GHG Study (2020) estimating about 740 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions from international shipping in 2018.

Porst added, "We do not need any more lofty agreements and targets. We need concrete action that makes a difference in the real world. For shipping, this is above all about accelerating investment in and production of green fuels. It is obvious that COP30 should also be used, from a Danish perspective, to strengthen ties with countries such as Brazil — one of the strongest supporters of a global climate agreement for shipping in the IMO — as well as the other Mercosur nations. We need closer cooperation with all those who share our ambition of getting global climate policy back on track."

The postponed Net-Zero Framework is expected to return to the agenda when MEPC reconvenes in October 2026. Had the regulations been adopted this year, they would have applied from March 2027 to seagoing vessels of more than 5,000 gross tonnes, a segment accounting for over 85 percent of global maritime emissions.

COP30 is taking place in Belém from November 6-21, 2025.