A leading AP Moller-Maersk executive has criticised the International Maritime Organization's latest climate change deal as "lacking in ambition".

Simon Bergulf, director of regulatory affairs, wrote on LinkedIn that the giant Danish group is concerned at the lack of reward for first-movers on decarbonisation, as well as for over-performing vessels.

Simon Bergulf, director of regulatory affairs at AP Moller-Maersk, has criticised the IMO's latest climate change deal. Photo: Simon Bergulf/Twitter
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"I wish to echo the disappointment felt by many after last week's IMO meeting on greenhouse gases," he said.

The J/5 deal at last week's Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions is aimed at helping owners reduce the carbon intensity of shipping by 40% by 2030.

Central to the agreed measures is the idea of an Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and a requirement for ships to adopt an enhanced Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan.

Danish Shipping called the agreement "vague," however, and shipowners organisation Bimco said many questions were left unanswered.

No sense of urgency?

Bergulf said member states, including those from Europe, showed "very little ambition" and seem to have ignored the "real sense of urgency" felt in the industry.

"IMO is going down a path of minimum compliance and this should not be a compliance exercise, we need to support leadership to find the new fuels," he added.

Bergulf said the lack of enforcement mechanisms for the short-term measures was equally disappointing.

"What we have learned from the IMO 2020 sulphur regulation...is that development of enforcement mechanisms should not be a mere afterthought," he added.

"I truly hope that MEPC75 in November will deliver something more tangible and ambitious. In the meantime, we will at Maersk stay the course and maintain our ambitions."

IMO secretary general Kitack Lim defended the deal during a TradeWinds webinar earlier this week.

He said the agreement includes a carbon intensity ranking of vessels from A to E for the first time, with ships rated at D and E needing to take corrective action.

But he admitted further work is needed to come up with more concrete guidelines.