Thursday, October 23, 2025
This conference will focus on implementation of the Government’s recent Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, examining strategic and practical issues in moving the domestic maritime sector toward net zero.
Areas for discussion include regulatory coordination, economic factors, infrastructure readiness, and workforce issues – looking at what will be needed from policy and the sector itself if sustained emissions reduction is to be achieved across the industry.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to discuss implications of the strategy and practicalities for advancing the strategy’s five policy pillars, including fuel regulation, port readiness, emissions pricing, and energy efficiency – as well as targeted measures for smaller vessels. Areas for discussion also include related measures such as the confirmed expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to domestic maritime from July 2026, the IMO’s global shipping emissions agreement in April 2025 introducing international penalties from 2028, and the £30m CMDC6 innovation funding announced in July 2025.
Planned sessions will explore implications of these policies for operators of different sizes and profiles, including large shipping companies, ports, fishing fleets, and operators of smaller vessels. Options for addressing compliance costs and facilitating the use of alternative fuels will also be assessed. Delegates will also examine tensions between domestic UK measures and international frameworks, particularly around timing misalignments and competitive impacts. Further consideration is expected on what will be required to support the commercial deployment of clean vessels, particularly in areas where zero-emission solutions remain technically or economically challenging to achieve.