AS the gavel came down at COP28 in Dubai it was clear that we had an agreement that was high on rhetoric and low on detail.

The totemic language of an agreement that calls on all countries to move away from the use of fossil fuels does not really address the difficult part — how? Even the pledge by more than 100 countries to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 does not give any detail on how this will happen and who will do it.

Juxtapose this with the sometimes highly detailed discussions at the International Maritime Organization. Often criticised as being too slow, we have seen the IMO come forward with tangible plans and a pathway to deliver a regulatory framework that will move the shipping to a net zero future.

In July member states at the IMO agreed to revise their greenhouse gas reduction strategy and significantly scale up the ambition. This agreement includes specific checkpoints for 2030 and 2040 which are particularly ambitious. As a result, the industry has agreed to do everything possible to achieve these goals, including the 70%- 80% absolute reduction of GHG emissions now demanded of the entire global shipping sector by 2040.

Work is already underway on a comprehensive impact assessment to provide detailed information for member states ahead of important negotiations in 2024. This will be when governments roll up their sleeves to agree a set of both technical and economic measures that will come into effect in 2027.

The incoming secretary-general of the IMO, Arsenio Dominguez, could not have been clearer when he addressed the Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit on Sunday at the Museum of the Future in Dubai when he said: “We are fuel and technology agnostic. The rules are not there to limit innovation, but to actually foster it. And what we need as well is the input from the industry. You now have a clear vision of where we are going,”

This sent a clear message of confidence to the gathered industry leaders and partner associations that the coming year is about getting down to business and delivering a real regulatory environment for international shipping that will ensure greenhouse gas emissions are cut.

The International Chamber of Shipping has put forward proposals to help ensure that we meet this objective and we will work with member states to ensure that we have the “how” enshrined in a global regulatory framework.

A fund and reward scheme, which shipowners have agreed to put money into based on the amount of fuel used by ships, will reward first movers and provide funds to build infrastructure and retrain people. This will catalyse a market without impacting trade and will build on the current regulatory requirement to declare fuel consumption so that we can set up and operate the plan quickly and easily.

Details are always important and the shipping industry is determined to be a leader. We hope the rest of the world will follow.

The ICS’ Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit is available to view here