INDIA’S MARITIME SECTOR IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE: ALIGNING NATIONAL VISIONS WITH THE IMO’S NET-ZERO PATHWAY

Dilip Ladumor*, Priyesh Chauhan**, Rajesh Asati***

The maritime sector is central to global trade but also represents a hard-to-abate source of greenhouse gas emissions, prompting an urgent transition toward low- and zero-carbon shipping and port systems. This paper examines India’s maritime sector from a climate change perspective, situating national developments within the evolving global decarbonization framework of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The study reviews the importance of maritime transport for India’s economy, the sector’s emissions challenge, and the IMO’s net-zero strategy for international shipping, and analyses India’s response through key policy frameworks, including Maritime India Vision 2030, the Harit Sagar – Green Port Guidelines, the National Green Hydrogen Mission, the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, and the Green Tug and Green Port Craft programme. Using a qualitative synthesis of policy documents and recent sectorial data, the paper assesses the degree of alignment between India’s maritime ambitions and global climate objectives and identifies critical gaps, opportunities, and challenges shaping the transition. The results indicate that India has articulated a multi-horizon maritime decarbonization pathway, combining near-term operational measures, medium-term port-level targets, and long-term net-zero-oriented visions, with strong emphasis on renewable energy integration and green fuel adoption. However, constraints related to emissions monitoring, fuel infrastructure readiness, governance coordination, financing, and technology uncertainty remain significant. The paper concludes that while India’s maritime climate strategy demonstrates growing convergence with the IMO’s net-zero trajectory, focused action on implementation and enabling mechanisms will be essential to translate ambition into sustained emission reductions and to position India as a leading developing maritime nation in the global low-carbon transition.

Keywords: Maritime decarbonization, Climate change, India, Green ports, IMO strategy, Net-zero shipping, Green hydrogen

* Lecturer, GMB Polytechnic, Rajula, ladumordilip56@gmail.com

** IITRAM, Ahmedabad

*** MoPSW, New Delhi
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