By Kerrlene Wills
The Caribbean voice has never been louder and more present in discussions that decide the future of global shipping. As negotiations reach a boiling point this year, the region still has four ways to influence the outcome.
When I first took part in the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) negotiations on maritime decarbonisation in London in 2022, Caribbean countries were largely absent from the room.
Considering how consequential the discussions would be for a region so dependent on shipping, it soon became my mission to help ensure that the Caribbean’s voice is heard in the design of what would become the Net-Zero Framework (NZF), the IMO’s flagship climate policy.
Some said it could not be done. But after three years of intensive work with partners on the ground, the region is fully engaged in the discussions. This is especially through initiatives like the Caribbean Shipping Lanes Project (CSL), which brings together regional academic institutions and bodies to contribute to a collective voice for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Now, our voices are being heard.
Through my work, I saw firsthand what decarbonisation would mean for shipping in the region, including challenges like fuel availability, infrastructure limits and whether certain routes would still work.
As IMO talks now reach a second act nobody expected, the region has a unique opportunity to fine-tune the NZF design to ensure essential goods continue to move across the region while we cut emissions.
From my perspective, four key principles need to be included in the NZF to make this happen.
- Emphasise Just and Equitable Transition (JET)
The universal levy proposed by over 50 countries in 2025 was, in my view, the best approach to decarbonisation because it was simple and made every ship contribute.
With the two-tiered NZF compromise agreed last year, the costs of decarbonisation now fall more heavily on certain ships, many of which work in already vulnerable markets like the Caribbean. This means the ships least able to change are facing the highest costs.
As a result, resources devoted to JET need to be stronger, not weaker. This is especially important because developing countries would, in many cases, be the ones paying into the system. Funding is needed to address the financial access, infrastructure, technology, fuel and capacity constraints that make decarbonisation disproportionately difficult for developing markets.
We cannot abandon the NZF’s JET principles and deep decarbonisation.
- Introduce a targeted mechanism for structurally constrained shipping
Vessels in structurally constrained networks, such as those in the Caribbean, face real operational challenges to decarbonisation. Under the current structure of the NZF, the pool of funding available to support zero-emission fuel adoption and address these challenges is insufficient and is already under political pressure to shrink further.
I don’t think the answer is to lower the ambition of the entire Framework to meet the lowest common denominator for decarbonization. What good is a multilateral agreement that simply preserves business as usual?
But from my experience working with a Caribbean shipping company, I know we need to plan carefully so that our most vulnerable groups don’t end up carrying the biggest burdens.
First, we must ensure that resources are made available to keep the IMO’s promise that “no country is left behind”.
We can also consider how vulnerable stakeholders might keep resources in their region and avoid some of the worst impacts of these measures. Where transition capital is limited and alternative fuels may not be available, addressing “disproportionate negative impacts” might mean credits or compliance relief, in addition to financial support or adjustment assistance.
- Preserve the economic signal and reward genuine first movers
If we want companies to invest early in zero- and near-zero-emission technologies, we need to reward them for taking that risk.
LNG and other fossil pathways may have a transitional role, as contemplated in some proposals on the NZF. However, transitional does not mean reward-eligible. Fossil fuel pathways already receive financing from national coffers.
Funds generated by the NZF should instead contribute to scaling the technologies and fuels needed for long-term decarbonisation, achieve the agreement’s objectives, and meet the agreed targets.
I still think most of the funding should help developing countries join the decarbonisation effort and tackle the barriers they face. Even so, a reward system is important to encourage innovation and support those willing to take early risks to break the cycle of high costs, low investment, and limited fuel options.
- Give commercial actors a voice – but not the entire purse
Finally, I understand the logic behind proposals calling for greater shipowner control over where contributions go. Shipowners know where the infrastructure gaps are and what the challenges are for decarbonising their fleets, especially for regional operators.
But we all know that ultimately costs flow through freight rates to consumers. The governance of transition finance has to reflect those broader interests as well.
I would favour a public-private model, with meaningful shipowner participation and government oversight and involvement in project design, so that financing tackles the immediate challenges to getting decarbonisation off the ground.
Ultimately, the future of the Framework will be decided in December. I hope these four suggestions help move the discussion forward constructively and in a way that benefits the Caribbean.
My biggest hope is that the region gets the best possible deal from this process – one that protects our interests, encourages innovation in clean and renewable energy, and most importantly, leads to real cuts in emissions.
Kerrlene Wills is a government affairs and geopolitical strategist with extensive experience in maritime, climate and trade policy. She has served as Guyana’s Chargée d’Affaires in Geneva, led CARICOM negotiations at the WTO, and served as Director of Ocean and Climate at the UN Foundation, where she advanced shipping decarbonisation across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Most recently, she was Director of Government and Community Affairs at Tropical Shipping, a major carrier linking US and Caribbean markets.
