THE IMO drama last week is causing uproar in Brussels.

The European Commission’s shipping team is furious at Greece and Cyprus, both of which broke ranks with the EU27 by abstaining from the vote to postpone the Net-Zero Framework talks for a year.

The commission would rather everyone had voted No to a delay, and Yes to adopting the NZF instead.

The Brussels machine, we report, is trying to think up ways to punish the rebels for undermining EU unity.

It has few good options to do this, however. Opponents of the NZF, including some of the biggest Greek shipping companies, can count on broader politics working in their favour for a while yet.

The US and Saudi Arabia will not be changing their views on the NZF, which is in limbo. Appetite for greenery in Europe is also fading, shipping is as hard to abate as ever, and politics is hard to do.

The European Parliament that brought Fit for 55 into the world a few years ago was cresting a green wave. But the iteration may have to start doing deals with the far right to get anything done, according to Politico.

Plenty of the arguments used by the US and Saudi Arabia against the NZF were the same they’ve used against every previous environment measure proposed at IMO.

But concerns about the NZF’s opacity, complexity and uncertain effectiveness were valid and widespread.

Supporters now have a year to work on the framework and make a better pitch for its adoption on the world stage. “This is the best we can do” is the true answer, but they’ll need another.

Europe’s climate progressives must come back better prepared for a fight they may well lose again. That’s not fair, but it is politics.

Declan Bush
Senior reporter, Lloyd’s List

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