The movement to create green shipping corridors – trade routes designed to demonstrate and scale novel zero-emission fuels, vessels, and technologies – has expanded in numbers and geographic scope, according to a new progress report published today by the Getting to Zero Coalition and the Global Maritime Forum.
This year’s edition, At a Crossroads: Annual Progress Report on Green Shipping Corridors 2025, identifies 25 new green corridor initiatives, expanding the global total to 84 active initiatives. Initiatives have been launched in major developing economies like China, India, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, and Kenya, reflecting the significant economic opportunities that can be seized through the development of zero-emission marine fuels and bunkering capabilities in these regions.
The news comes only a month after discussions to adopt the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) landmark Net-Zero Framework, designed to establish a path for shipping to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, were delayed for at least one year.
“The move of major countries like China, India, and Brazil into green corridors is hugely promising, as these are markets that will determine whether zero-emission shipping scales fast enough to meet global climate goals,” Jesse Fahnestock, director of decarbonisation at the Global Maritime Forum, said. “But even more importantly, we’re seeing recognition from these countries that green corridors are more than just environmental projects – they are strategic economic infrastructure. Countries that move early stand to gain competitive industrial and geopolitical advantages across energy, trade, and technology.”
For the first time since the report’s inception in 2022, four green shipping corridors have now reached the ‘realisation stage’, an important milestone at which the construction and/or operation of vessels, infrastructure, and/or fuel plants takes place. However, the report cautions that many of the 84 initiatives remain stalled by a ‘feasibility wall’ created by the cost gap between conventional and zero-emission fuels – a challenge that the Net-Zero Framework, delayed until at least next October, could help overcome.
Despite this delay, the report warns that industry and governments should not surrender the next year to a ‘wait and see’ approach. Instead, corridors should make use of emerging policies and programmes from national governments, such as the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, H2Global, and Australia’s Hydrogen Headstart programme – something that would unlock progress ahead of a global framework and put participants among the frontrunners to benefit from future IMO incentives.
“We have at least 12 months before the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework is adopted,” Fahnestock said. “That time can either be spent waiting, or used to build projects that create strategic economic advantages, generate learnings that can influence the IMO’s reward mechanism, and put participants first in line for future global rewards. Those who act now will be best positioned to benefit when regulation catches up.”
To best expand and progress green corridors, the report recommends the industry:
Pursue strategies to break inertia and maintain momentum, closing the cost gap and ensuring corridors are advanced enough to qualify for first mover rewards once they’re available.
Capitalise on the opportunity to shape IMO policy, like the reward mechanism, and be well-positioned to benefit from eventual regulation.
Better engage those with ambitious decarbonisation goals that can help scale solutions, particularly cargo owners who may be more willing to pay a premium for cleaner fuels.
Utilise emerging national policy and adapt it for new geographies to accelerate change and encourage industry buy-in.
Stay true to original principles, remembering that green corridors’ greatest contribution to maritime decarbonisation comes from fostering collaboration and prioritising harder-to-deploy e-fuels over more readily available solutions.
Source: Global Maritime Forum
