The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has agreed a partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support the development of sustainable finance mechanisms for the maritime sector.
The agreement marks GCMD’s first collaboration with a multilateral development bank and will focus on aligning financial support with decarbonisation targets through joint knowledge-sharing initiatives.
The partnership will support ADB’s new Sustainable and Resilient Maritime Fund (SRMF), launched as part of its wider Maritime Decarbonisation Initiative. The fund aims to invest in resilient port infrastructure, accelerate uptake of alternative fuels, and close financing gaps in support of a low-carbon maritime transition.
GCMD will contribute data and methodologies from its pilot programmes, including efforts to validate fuel savings from energy efficiency technologies (EETs) using onboard sensors.
These data-driven insights are intended to underpin a Pay-As-You-Save (PAYS) model, allowing shipowners to repay EET investments through verified operational savings.
“At this critical juncture, the IMO’s announcement of a global emissions pricing mechanism sends the clearest signal yet that urgent action is required—not only to advance decarbonisation, but also to safeguard the long-term commercial viability of shipowners,” said Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of GCMD.
“Energy efficiency technologies (EETs) can play a vital role by reducing fuel consumption, thereby lowering the penalties shipowners will face under IMO’s framework. We believe that the Pay-As-You-Save (PAYS) model can uniquely accelerate and scale the adoption of these critical solutions.”
“In this context, we value the opportunity to leverage ADB’s extensive global network to drive meaningful progress, particularly in unlocking financing to support sustainable growth of the maritime industry.”
