GCMD unpacks cost and compliance tool for IMO's new climate framework

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization (GCMD) has unpacked a cost and compliance calculator aimed at exploring how the International Maritime Organization’s GHG Global Fuel Intensify (GFI)-linked pricing system could impact operational costs in shipping.

As noted by the GCMD, the tool could prove ‘useful’ for industry stakeholders who are assessing fuel options, planning newbuilds, or seeking to understand the operational implications of the IMO Net-Zero Framework.

During the 83rd meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the IMO Net-Zero Framework, which is hailed as the first in the world to combine mandatory emissions limits and greenhouse gas pricing across an entire industry sector, was finally given the green light.

The approved measures, which include a new fuel standard for vessels and a global pricing mechanism for emissions, are due to be formally adopted in October this year and enter force in 2027.

Compliance with the GFI entails two targets: the Base Target and the Direct Compliance Target. Ships that emit below the latter target are not planned to be penalized. Instead, they can earn surplus