The IMO faces mounting pressure from environmental groups and shipping stakeholders to reject biofuels as a solution for decarbonising the maritime sector.

A coalition of 69 NGOs, including the Global Forest Coalition and Biofuelwatch, has called on the IMO to exclude biofuels from its Global Fuel Standard (GFS), warning that they exacerbate deforestation, land displacement, and climate change.

The NGOs’ open letter, sent ahead of the IMO’s upcoming discussions on low-carbon fuel policies, criticises Brazil for advocating biofuels in shipping to expand its domestic industry. The letter stresses that endorsing biofuels would drive further rainforest destruction and threaten communities in the Global South. Almuth Ernsting of Biofuelwatch stated, “Communities are already bearing the brunt of monoculture plantations—expanding biofuel use would deepen the crisis.”