The meeting of the International Maritime Organization's key environment committee has set up the shipping regulator to debate what could be the adoption of a zero-carbon target by 2050 at a planned strategy review.

And if the statements of IMO delegations are a signal of the outcome, that target may not include the word "net".

The outcome of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting showed a plurality of nations focusing on full decarbonisation by 2050, rather than a net-zero target that would include offsetting of hydrocarbon fuels.