The US could support an International Maritime Organization (IMO) net-zero framework (NZF) that recognises LNG and bio-LNG as qualifying fuels, Federal Maritime Commission chairman Laura DiBella said, signalling Washington's possible position for the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) extraordinary session in December 2026.
The statement suggests the US could work with a revised NZF rather than oppose any global framework for cutting shipping emissions. This could ease market concerns that Washington might reject all versions of the framework and obstruct the IMO's attempt to advance maritime decarbonization. Any viable version of the IMO's NZF must allow the "maximum range" of alternative fuels, including LNG and bio-LNG, DiBella said in a statement.
"Efforts toward emissions reductions must be linked explicitly to demonstrated viability and realistic availability of alternative fuels, not a pre-determined, rigid implementation date or limited fuel options," she said. Alternative fuels must meet agreed criteria for affordability, global availability and scalability, while conventional and transitional fuels should remain in use, she added.
The US has opposed the NZF in its current form, arguing that it could impose high costs on shipping, energy producers and consumers, while favoring expensive fuels that have not shown sufficient availability or commercial viability.
A US submission ahead of the IMO's MEPC 84th session in late April in London called for an approach without carbon taxes, fuel-type restrictions or penalties against existing propulsion technologies. But DiBella's comments show conditions under which US concerns could be addressed, with LNG and bio-LNG at the core of that position.
Discussions on emissions cuts must include both fuels, which could "realistically supply over 60pc of global maritime fuel by 2050", DiBella said. Bio-LNG can use existing LNG infrastructure and serve the expanding fleet of LNG-fuelled vessels, avoiding some costs of building a new fuel supply chain, she added.
A global fuel standard could also provide long-term demand certainty to support investment and expand bio-LNG supply, particularly in the US, DiBella said. The policy challenge, therefore, is not to abandon alternative fuels because future demand may increase their price, but rather it is to design a framework that allows supply and infrastructure investment to grow alongside demand, she said.
The US is the world's largest natural gas producer and LNG exporter. US dry gas output rose by more than 4pc to a record 39 trillion ft³ in 2025, while LNG exports increased from around 500mn ft³/d in 2016 to 15bn ft³/d last year
The US Energy Information Administration expects exports to exceed 18.1bn ft³/d in 2027, supported by new liquefaction capacity.
The IMO approved the NZF at MEPC 83 in April 2025, including a global marine fuel standard and a greenhouse gas emissions pricing mechanism. But members adjourned the extraordinary MEPC session on formal adoption in October 2025 and agreed to reconvene after 12 months to allow more time to build consensus.
