Ahead of spring meetings, ZEMBA’s President and CEO calls on International Maritime Organization (IMO) to create clear, effective, globally consistent regulations to guide maritime sector’s clean energy transition.
Contact: Taylor Goelz
Senior Program Manager
The Aspen Institute
[email protected]
Washington, D.C., March 25, 2025
– Today, Ingrid Irigoyen, President and CEO of ZEMBA, sent a letter to IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez urging the IMO to approve a clear, comprehensive, globally consistent set of measures in April that supports first mover freight buyers and drives a predictable and reliable clean energy transition in the maritime sector. The letter is available on ZEMBA’s website.
Drawing on the lessons learned from ZEMBA’s innovative collective forward procurement processes over the past two years, the letter identifies five critical policy provisions on which the IMO Member States should reach consensus during the final push to approve regulatory measures for the sector. Specifically, the letter calls for:
- Aligning mid-term measures to achieve the “striving for” trajectory outlined in the IMO’s 2023 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Strategy
- Developing a GHG fuel standard that accounts for the full lifecycle of fuel
- Designing mid-term measures with adequate financial incentives to foster a viable market for vastly scalable, long-term fuels and technologies, particularly those derived from clean energy and sustainable waste carbon
- Creating a transparent fuel certification framework that recognizes established and credible third-party certification schemes, and
- Updating the IMO’s Data Collection System to support effective and transparent reporting.
Contact: Taylor Goelz Senior Program Manager The Aspen Institute [email protected]
“This is not only a challenge to confront,” Irigoyen says in the letter of the maritime sector’s clean energy transformation, “but also an opportunity to seize as the maritime sector—and the global economy that relies on it—moves into a new era.”
In support of the letter, IKEA Supply Chain Operations, Sustainability Manager Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld said “As a major cargo owner and member of ZEMBA, IKEA is committed to zero emission shipping. We recognize our responsibility to contribute to the transition to clean energy in ocean transportation. The effects of climate change are already having a measurable impact on people, the planet and our business. A strong regulatory framework by the International Maritime Organization is key for an effective and predictable shift towards net-zero greenhouse emissions in ocean shipping.”
ZEMBA — a first-of-its-kind freight buyers alliance focused on catalyzing the market for scalable, sustainable shipping solutions — completed its inaugural tender for the environmental attributes of very low carbon shipping in 2024 and recently launched its second tender focused on aggregating demand for shipping powered by e-fuel produced with clean energy. ZEMBA’s leadership is a driving force in the maritime sector’s clean energy transition, but voluntary private sector action alone is not enough. To meet the needs of freight customers and prepare this industry for the global economy of the future, the sector also needs effective global measures to provide certainty and foster the development of the maritime sector of the future.
Insights from ZEMBA’s inaugural tender were previously shared with the IMO through a submission ahead of the IMO’s fall 2024 meetings. For more information about ZEMBA’s work, visit our website.
For Media: Inquiries may be directed to Senior Program Manager for Ocean & Climate Taylor Goelz at [email protected].
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ABOUT ZEMBA
The Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), a non-profit organization, is a first-of- its-kind buyers group within the maritime sector, the aim of which is to accelerate commercial deployment of clean energy powered shipping, enable economies of scale, and help cargo owners maximize their positive impact beyond what any one freight buyer could accomplish alone.
The Aspen Institute’s Energy and Environment Program serves as the ZEMBA secretariat. Technical and legal support are provided by several key partners. The Center for Green Market Activation (GMA) is a US-based, globally focused non-profit working to catalyze and scale the uptake of low-carbon goods and services within carbon intensive industries such as aviation, maritime, trucking, cement and concrete, and chemicals. Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub is an independent, not-for-profit social purpose organization, working towards a vision of a safe, sustainable, and human-centric decarbonized shipping industry for the benefit of society. The law firm Pillsbury acts as legal counsel and provides procurement expertise.
The over 40 current members of ZEMBA encourage additional companies to join us in sending an ever-growing demand signal for scalable, sustainable shipping through ZEMBA’s tenders. Learn more at www.shipzemba.org.