Global shipping finance is edging closer to climate targets, and the latest update makes that trend clear with a touch of boldness: transparency is driving real momentum in the industry’s transition. But here’s where it gets controversial: the path to full decarbonisation remains steep, and not all players agree on the pace or the best routes to get there.
A new report from the Poseidon Principles shows that the financial sector’s lending aligned to shipping’s minimum net-zero trajectory has improved by almost 8 percentage points, even as the annual emissions-reduction targets become more demanding. Signatories, representing roughly three-quarters of the world’s ship-finance portfolio, disclosed 95% of their eligible portfolio activity in 2025, up from 93% in 2024.
Poseidon Principles plans to bring in more financial actors—from private equity and hedge funds to capital-markets underwriters—to bolster climate transparency in shipping finance. The developments were unveiled at Copenhagen on December 15, 2025, in the Sixth Annual Disclosure Report, which positions the Poseidon Principles as the industry’s first sector-specific framework for publicly assessing and reporting the climate alignment of shipping portfolios. With 36 signatories across 14 countries, the initiative provides a benchmark aligned with the IMO’s target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by 2050.
This year, signatories disclosed 95% of their eligible portfolio activity, up from 93% last year—the second-highest level since reporting began.
Paul Taylor, Vice Chair of the Poseidon Principles and Global Head of Maritime Industries at Societe Generale, emphasized that transparency is essential: it fosters collaboration between financiers and shipowners and steers capital toward more efficient vessels and cleaner fuels. He noted that the report shows measurable, real-world progress, with climate-alignment scores moving closer to the IMO’s decarbonisation pathways despite increasingly stringent targets. The Principles, he said, demonstrate how financial transparency can guide the shipping industry’s transition.
The report highlights that emissions data are increasingly shaping credit decisions and enabling innovative financial products, such as sustainability-linked loans. Improvements in vessel efficiency, retrofitting, and the development of low-emission fuel pathways are cited as key drivers behind this year’s score advances. The scores were also affected by evolving methodologies and external factors, including longer vessel routes and supply-chain disruptions. Overall, the framework reinforces the role of financial institutions as active partners in the sector’s transition.
Key 2025 findings:
- Increasing transparency: Twenty-nine signatories disclosed 90% or more of their in-scope portfolio, while nine achieved 100% reporting—the highest count to reach these targets to date. The average disclosure rate across all signatories stood at 95%.
- Improved climate alignment: Although averages remain below the IMO’s net-zero pathways, year-over-year improvements were substantial. Against the IMO’s minimum trajectory, scores improved from just over 19% misaligned last year to just under 12% misaligned this year (roughly an 8 percentage-point improvement). Against the striving trajectory, scores improved from 25% misaligned to just over 18% misaligned.
- Gains in cargo and passenger segments: The cargo segment reduced misalignment from 14% to 6%, and the passenger segment from 38% to 26%. These shifts reflect better vessel efficiency, greater use of low-emission fuels, and more efficient dual-fuel vessels entering service.
It’s important to recognize that the IMO’s 2023 GHG Strategy sets increasingly ambitious milestones each year, making alignment tougher over time. While year-on-year improvements are encouraging, achieving milestones for 2030, 2040, and 2050 will require continued, concerted effort.
The Poseidon Principles’ methodology has been incorporated into the Science Based Targets initiative’s Net-Zero Standard for Financial Institutions as an acceptable method to set near-term and long-term portfolio-alignment targets, underscoring its role as an established, globally recognized standard for shipping finance.
Expansion of associate membership
Since 2019, the Poseidon Principles have become a globally recognized benchmark for transparent, industry-wide climate reporting, a model now mirrored in other sectors such as steel, aluminum, and aviation. The Principles are expanding to broaden participation beyond lenders, lessors, and financial guarantors, inviting associate members from a wider range of financial institutions—including private equity firms, hedge funds, and capital-markets underwriters. This expansion aims to amplify the framework’s impact by involving a broader swath of the financial community in climate-focused financing decisions, while maintaining reporting obligations for signatories.
Michael Parker, Chair of the Poseidon Principles and Chairman of Global Shipping & Logistics at Citi, described the annual disclosure report as a vital industry pulse check. He emphasized that broadening associate membership will widen the lens through which climate considerations are integrated into financing decisions, reinforcing transparency and accountability across finance and supporting a more sustainable shipping sector.
In sum, the latest report reinforces the pivotal role of finance in steering shipping toward a zero-emission future, while highlighting transparency as a crucial tool for measuring progress and guiding action.
Media contact: Nicole Schlichting, Interim Senior Communications Manager – PR & Media, mobile +45 31 26 19 25, email nsc@globalmaritimeforum.org
About the Poseidon Principles for Financial Institutions: a framework for measuring and reporting how financial institutions’ shipping portfolios align with climate goals. It reflects the industry’s responsibility to promote environmental stewardship throughout the maritime value chain and aligns with the IMO’s climate ambitions. The IMO’s revised strategy targets net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by around 2050, with interim milestones and lifecycle-emissions considerations for fuels. The Poseidon Principles, together with the Poseidon Principles for Marine Insurance and the Sea Cargo Charter, are part of a four-principle family developed with the Global Maritime Forum to foster emissions transparency across the maritime sector. The Global Maritime Forum is a Copenhagen-based international not-for-profit dedicated to shaping the future of global seaborne trade, funded by grants and partner contributions and focused on sustainable economic development and well-being in the maritime industry.
