NGOs Urge IMO to Clarify LNG Remarks Amid Net-Zero Framework Talks

Thirteen civil society organizations and NGOs sent an open letter dated October 27 to the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Domínguez, asking him to clarify remarks about liquefied natural gas (LNG) made during the Global Maritime Forum's Annual Summit in Shanghai on October 21, which the signatories said could be interpreted as a signal of preferential treatment for that fuel under the Net-Zero Framework (NZF).

In those remarks, Domínguez acknowledged that shipping cannot switch overnight to alternative fuels, referred to newer engines with lower methane slip, and highlighted the possible role of biofuels, although he did not confirm any concrete concession or preferential treatment for LNG.

The organizations argued that "a public comment about a fuel could be read as a signal about the outcome" of the ongoing negotiations, and stressed that "the Secretariat must remain neutral," noting that the decision on how fuels are treated under the NZF rests with Member States, based on independent science. They asked Domínguez to confirm that his remarks were not intended to prejudge any outcome for specific fuels, including LNG and biofuels.

According to the letter, LNG and other methane-based fuels should not receive rewards under the NZF unless their life-cycle emissions, including methane slip and upstream emissions, meet the framework's thresholds. Citing the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the signatories stated that LNG offers no climate benefit over a 20-year horizon and that its maximum life-cycle emissions benefit is just 15% over a 100-year period under optimal conditions, while the most common type of LNG engine releases on average 6.4% of its fuel as unburned methane, compared with the 3.5% assumed by the IMO. They also warned of health, financial and equity risks, citing UNEP's Global Methane Assessment, which estimates that a 45% global reduction in methane emissions by 2030 would prevent around 255,000 premature deaths per year, and a UCL Energy Institute report that calculates between $129 billion and $848 billion in stranded assets from LNG-fueled vessels by 2030.

Among their requests to Domínguez, the organizations asked him to reaffirm Member States' authority over the final decision, ensure equitable access to technical information, and keep the IMO's 2023 GHG Strategy as a reference point, with its target of 5–10% zero or near-zero emission energy by 2030. Technical negotiations on the framework are set to resume on November 23, after the NZF was approved at MEPC 83 by 63 votes in favor and 16 against, although its formal adoption was postponed.