African States Unite on IMO Net Zero Framework

By Mbungu Harrison

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

Africa is being urged to act fast and unite as global shipping decarbonisation rules take effect, or risk higher trade costs.

It is against this backdrop that about 70 maritime policy makers and technical experts from 30 African countries, alongside representatives of the African Union, are meeting in Mombasa this week to craft a common African position on the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Net Zero Framework.

The three-day Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) Members Technical Workshop, hosted by the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), is being held under the theme “Aligning Africa’s Maritime Transition with Green Industrialisation Opportunities.”

Speaking during the meeting, AAMA Chair and KMA Director General CPA Omae Nyarandi urged delegates to shift from rhetoric to concrete outcomes, warning that Africa risks being sidelined if it fails to act decisively as global shipping rules rapidly evolve.

“I urge all of us to use this meeting to move beyond statements. Let us leave with shared priorities, clear messages, and a practical agenda that links continental policy to national action, which readiness investments matter most, which partnerships we need, how do we protect trade competitiveness, and how we position our ports and corridors for the new shipping economy. Africa must must move from the margins and shape the future,” said CPA Nyarandi.

He noted that decisions currently unfolding at the global level would define shipping pathways for decades, with direct implications for African trade, logistics costs and port competitiveness.

“We are living through a rare moment when an industry that has powered globalisation for centuries is being re-engineered in real time. The rules governing fuels, emissions performance, and compliance are no longer theoretical drafts.

They are becoming the language of markets, shaping what cargo owners demand, what financiers fund, what insurers price, and what ports must offer.”

According to Nyarandi, a poorly designed transition could quietly raise logistics costs for African economies, but a well-coordinated strategy could instead unlock new opportunities.

“Another future is possible: one in which the same transition becomes a platform for African advantage: modernised ports and shipping services, stronger regional trade links, new skills and professions for our youth, and energy-linked maritime industries built on the continent’s immense renewable potential. The difference between these futures is not fate. It is a strategy.”

He emphasised that Africa’s diverse starting points in port infrastructure, energy reliability, institutional capacity and access to finance require a development-aware transition framework.

“A one-size-fits-all transition, if poorly designed or supported, risks creating a one-speed world in which advantage concentrates in a few places and vulnerability spreads across many others.”

Nyarandi said AAMA would intensify coordination among member states to ensure Africa speaks with a united, informed and prepared voice in global maritime negotiations.

“AAMA is not merely a forum; it is a strategic instrument. It is how Africa converts many national realities into a single negotiating posture… We will expand the frequency and quality of coordination among our members and create more platforms for alignment ahead of major decision points.”

On his part, Ali Mohamed, Special Envoy for Climate Change at the Regional African Port States, described the meeting as critical in allowing African port states to confront the decarbonisation agenda outside the pressure of global negotiations.

“The journey toward decarbonizing shipping will be long and complex. We are navigating a more competitive, more uncertain global environment. In such times, preparedness, cooperation, and clarity of purpose matter more than ever,” said Mohamed.

Africa is among the regions most vulnerable to climate impacts, with countries from Morocco to Mozambique currently experiencing severe flooding while parts of the Horn of Africa face prolonged drought.

Participants noted that even in the absence of full global consensus, African ports will still feel the effects of the transition through changing vessel requirements, investment decisions, compliance expectations from trading partners and insurers, and shifting competitiveness along global trade routes.

The workshop is exploring how the shift to low-emission maritime systems could support Africa’s development agenda through port modernisation, green finance, alternative fuels, skills development, industrial upgrading and stronger participation in shaping future maritime norms.

However, delegates also acknowledged risks including rising costs, capacity constraints, external unilateral measures, and the potential exclusion of African ports and fleets from key trade routes.

Organisers said the Mombasa meeting aims to ensure Africa engages the Net Zero Framework not from a position of vulnerability, but from informed confidence with a clear strategy to align climate action with trade growth and industrialisation.