African countries have been urged to pursue coordinated action to effectively support and shape the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Net-Zero Framework (NZF), as the world prepares for far-reaching changes in global shipping aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) is advocating for a unified African approach to the NZF, warning that fragmented responses could expose countries to higher costs and reduced competitiveness in the evolving maritime landscape.
In 2023, the IMO adopted the Revised IMO GHG Strategy, committing the global shipping sector to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, with indicative checkpoints set for 2030 and 2040. To operationalise this ambition, the IMO approved the Net-Zero Framework in April 2025.
The NZF combines mandatory emissions reduction measures with carbon pricing for international shipping, marking the first global climate regulation designed to steer the sector toward net-zero emissions by around 2050.
While the framework is transformative for global shipping, its implications for Africa are particularly significant, given that maritime transport underpins the continent’s trade and is central to its industrialisation, energy security, and regional integration ambitions.
Without deliberate coordination, African states risk facing higher freight costs, uneven preparedness, stranded maritime assets, and weakened competitiveness.
However, a unified approach could enhance Africa’s bargaining power in global maritime governance and enable the continent to leverage the shipping energy transition to develop green fuel value chains, anchor port-led industrial clusters, and attract climate finance.
The NZF is scheduled to be considered for adoption by the IMO in October 2026. In preparation, AAMA has convened a three-day regional consultative workshop in Mombasa, bringing together delegates from 25 African countries to strengthen alignment, deepen technical understanding, and shape a common African position ahead of the negotiations.
Kenya’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Ali Mohammed, said the meeting comes at a time of profound shifts in the global system, marked by intensifying geopolitical competition, rising protectionism, unilateral economic measures, and growing strain on the multilateral, rules-based order that has long underpinned international trade and maritime cooperation.
“We are all witnessing that international negotiations are no longer shaped by technical considerations alone. They are influenced sometimes quietly, sometimes openly, by power dynamics, strategic interests, and economic leverage. We all saw the tactics some powerful countries employed during last year’s IMO meeting,” Mohammed said.
He noted that shipping is the backbone of African trade, with more than 90 per cent of the continent’s external trade transported by sea, meaning any changes to global shipping rules will have direct operational, economic, and regulatory implications for African ports and maritime administrations.
The Special Envoy further explained that Africa is highly vulnerable to climate impacts, with several regions from Morocco to Mozambique currently experiencing severe flooding, while others, including the Horn of Africa, are facing devastating drought.
Mohammed cited the lack of consensus during last year’s IMO discussions on the NZF as evidence of a contested global landscape in which cooperation is increasingly difficult, trust is thinner, and pressures on smaller and developing states are growing more complex.
“It may also reflect the diversity of national circumstances and economic structures, including those within Africa itself,” he said.
He acknowledged differences among African countries, such as varying energy endowments and economic models. Kenya, for example, derives about 93 per cent of its energy from clean sources, while other countries rely on different energy mixes.
“This diversity is a reality that must be acknowledged and managed constructively. What matters is not revisiting divisions, but recognising that Africa’s diversity exists within a global system that is becoming less predictable and more transactional. In such a system, fragmented responses carry risks for all of us,” Mohammed added.
He emphasised that the transition to low-emissions systems presents major opportunities for Africa, including modernisation of ports and maritime infrastructure, attraction of new investment and green finance, development of alternative fuels and related industries, skills development and technological upgrading, enhanced resilience of coastal and port infrastructure, and a stronger African voice in shaping future maritime norms.
AAMA Chairman and Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) Director General (DG) Justus Nyarandi said the workshop discussions aim to ensure Africa’s participation in global maritime governance is organised, forward-looking, and coherent.
“In the coming months, the world will make decisions that will shape the shipping transition pathway. Our responsibility is to ensure that Africa’s contribution to those decisions is informed, aligned, and consequential,” CPA Nyarandi said.
He warned that if the transition proceeds without taking Africa’s realities into account, it could quietly increase logistics costs, undermine trade competitiveness, and limit options for the ports and transport corridors that drive African economies.
“We must therefore align our policies and ensure that Africa rides the wave and benefits from the transition,” the KMA Director General stressed.
African Union Commission (AUC) Head of the Transport and Mobility Division, Eric Ntagengerwa, said maritime transport remains central to Africa’s trade, industrialisation, and regional integration and is increasingly influenced by global regulatory shifts such as the IMO NZF.
He highlighted the growing need for coherent continental coordination as Africa advances key initiatives, including the Revised African Maritime Transport Charter, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and green industrialisation agendas.
“The AUC plays a critical role in providing policy leadership, aligning maritime priorities across sectors, and coordinating Africa’s collective engagement in global maritime governance to ensure the continent speaks with a unified, strategic, and opportunity-driven voice,” Ntagengerwa said.
By Sadik Hassan
