Study on the Economic Impact of the International Maritime Organization Net Zero Framework
Closed Solicitation Posted
This opportunity was awarded. See the award notice from .
- Solicitation number
- 693JF726R000015
- Agency
-
Maritime Administration
Department of Transportation
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 541720 Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities
- Place of performance
- Washington, District of Columbia 20590, United States
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The U.S. Maritime Administration is soliciting a cost analysis of the International Maritime Organization's Net Zero Framework adopted in April 2025, with proposals due June 3, 2026. This is a cooperative agreement, not a competitive contract, open to domestic entities other than individuals; profits are not permitted under 2 CFR 200.
Place of performance is Washington, DC. The study must examine eight policy mechanisms: global GHG pricing and levy proposals; emissions trading and crediting systems; carbon offsets and crediting rules; fuel or energy standards and blending mandates; technology mandates, exemptions, and phase-in schedules; monitoring, reporting, verification, auditing and compliance regimes; fund governance, revenue collection, and allocation rules; and enforcement, penalties, and potential border or trade adjustment measures. MARAD requires quantified analysis where feasible of how each mechanism could alter operating and capital costs for U.S. flagged and U.S. dependent shipping and logistics; affect import/export unit costs and trade competitiveness; change demand for U.S. energy, technology, and maritime services; create administrative and compliance burdens; and risk leakage, double counting, or ineffective mitigation. The contractor must compare outcomes under three scenarios: the NZF as proposed, alternative designs limiting or reshaping levy and offset components, and delayed or phased implementation scenarios, each measured against a no-action baseline. Distributional analysis across U.S. industries, ports, and regions is required, along with policy safeguard recommendations.
The project timeline is three months from award. Maximum federal funding is $280,000 covering 100 percent of total project costs. Proposals are limited to 12 pages. Eligible applicants must be registered and current with SAM.gov at time of award. Selection criteria include detailed cost breakdowns, understanding of U.S. Government priorities, technical capabilities and key personnel qualifications, documented methodology with specific models and data sources, and demonstrated ability to deliver synthesis-quality products accessible to U.S. policy makers. Amendments 0001, 0002, and 0003 issued May 8, May 21, and May 29 provide Q&A clarifications. Christian Onwudiegwu and Kelly Mitchell-Carroll are the designated points of contact. NAICS 541720, PSC R405.
Notice text
4 versions
Update #4 · Latest ·
The purpose of this amendment no. 0003 is to provide Q&As to this RFP.
The purpose of this amendment no. 0002 is to provide Q&As to this RFP.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
The U.S. Maritime Administration is commissioning a targeted cost analysis of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) “Net Zero Framework” (NZF), adopted in April 2025, that centers on the NZF’s specific policy mechanisms and their economic consequences for the United States. The study should examine, at minimum, the NZF’s:
(a) global GHG pricing/levy proposals (including scope, price trajectory, and pass-through mechanisms).
(b) emissions trading and crediting systems.
(c) use and role of carbon offsets and related crediting rules.
(d) fuel/energy standard or fuel blending mandates.
(e) technology mandates, exemptions, and phase in schedules.
(f) monitoring, reporting, and verification, auditing and compliance regimes.
(g) Fund governance, revenue collection, and allocation rules (including conditionality and funding flows to ports, projects, or countries); and
(h) enforcement, penalties, and potential border or trade adjustment measures.
MARAD is particularly interested in how each mechanism could:
(1) alter operating and capital costs for U.S. flagged and U.S. dependent shipping and logistics; (2) affect import/export unit costs (TEU/ton) and trade competitiveness.
(3) change demand for U.S. energy, technology, and maritime services.
(4) create administrative and compliance burdens; and
(5) risk leakage, double counting, or ineffective mitigation (for example, reliance on offsets that do not deliver measurable reductions).
The study should quantify impacts where feasible, identify key assumptions and uncertainties for each mechanism, and analyze distributional effects across U.S. industries, ports, and regions.
The contractor should compare outcomes under: (A) the NZF as proposed (mechanism by mechanism); (B) alternative designs that limit or reshape levy/offset components; and (C) delayed or phased implementation scenarios. For each mechanism, the study must recommend practical safeguards, alternative policy instruments, or design changes that would reduce unnecessary economic burdens on U.S. interests while maintaining emissions outcomes rooted in reality, and provide clear metrics and analytical methods that MARAD and U.S. negotiators can use to evaluate NZF proposals moving forward. For each mechanism, the study shall compare the proposed mechanism relative to a “No Action” approach to fully distinguish the costs and benefits to U.S. maritime, trade, and economic interests.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Submission Dates and Times.
The deadline for proposal submission is 12:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Please submit proposals in PDF format via email to: Christian Onwudiegwu at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.govand Kelly Mitchell-Caroll at K.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov. Do not send paper copies, or other media of the proposal via post office or delivery service. Proposals received by MARADafter the deadline will not be considered for award. An email will be deemed “received” by MARAD on the date and time the email was “sent” to the email address in Section E.7, below, as determined by MARAD’s servers.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Update #3 ·
The purpose of this amendment no. 0002 is to provide Q&As to this RFP.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
The U.S. Maritime Administration is commissioning a targeted cost analysis of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) “Net Zero Framework” (NZF), adopted in April 2025, that centers on the NZF’s specific policy mechanisms and their economic consequences for the United States. The study should examine, at minimum, the NZF’s:
(a) global GHG pricing/levy proposals (including scope, price trajectory, and pass-through mechanisms).
(b) emissions trading and crediting systems.
(c) use and role of carbon offsets and related crediting rules.
(d) fuel/energy standard or fuel blending mandates.
(e) technology mandates, exemptions, and phase in schedules.
(f) monitoring, reporting, and verification, auditing and compliance regimes.
(g) Fund governance, revenue collection, and allocation rules (including conditionality and funding flows to ports, projects, or countries); and
(h) enforcement, penalties, and potential border or trade adjustment measures.
MARAD is particularly interested in how each mechanism could:
(1) alter operating and capital costs for U.S. flagged and U.S. dependent shipping and logistics; (2) affect import/export unit costs (TEU/ton) and trade competitiveness.
(3) change demand for U.S. energy, technology, and maritime services.
(4) create administrative and compliance burdens; and
(5) risk leakage, double counting, or ineffective mitigation (for example, reliance on offsets that do not deliver measurable reductions).
The study should quantify impacts where feasible, identify key assumptions and uncertainties for each mechanism, and analyze distributional effects across U.S. industries, ports, and regions.
The contractor should compare outcomes under: (A) the NZF as proposed (mechanism by mechanism); (B) alternative designs that limit or reshape levy/offset components; and (C) delayed or phased implementation scenarios. For each mechanism, the study must recommend practical safeguards, alternative policy instruments, or design changes that would reduce unnecessary economic burdens on U.S. interests while maintaining emissions outcomes rooted in reality, and provide clear metrics and analytical methods that MARAD and U.S. negotiators can use to evaluate NZF proposals moving forward. For each mechanism, the study shall compare the proposed mechanism relative to a “No Action” approach to fully distinguish the costs and benefits to U.S. maritime, trade, and economic interests.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Submission Dates and Times.
The deadline for proposal submission is 12:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Please submit proposals in PDF format via email to: Christian Onwudiegwu at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.govand Kelly Mitchell-Caroll at K.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov. Do not send paper copies, or other media of the proposal via post office or delivery service. Proposals received by MARADafter the deadline will not be considered for award. An email will be deemed “received” by MARAD on the date and time the email was “sent” to the email address in Section E.7, below, as determined by MARAD’s servers.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Update #2 ·
The purpose of this amendment no. 0001 is to provide Q&As to this RFP.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
The U.S. Maritime Administration is commissioning a targeted cost analysis of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) “Net Zero Framework” (NZF), adopted in April 2025, that centers on the NZF’s specific policy mechanisms and their economic consequences for the United States. The study should examine, at minimum, the NZF’s:
(a) global GHG pricing/levy proposals (including scope, price trajectory, and pass-through mechanisms).
(b) emissions trading and crediting systems.
(c) use and role of carbon offsets and related crediting rules.
(d) fuel/energy standard or fuel blending mandates.
(e) technology mandates, exemptions, and phase in schedules.
(f) monitoring, reporting, and verification, auditing and compliance regimes.
(g) Fund governance, revenue collection, and allocation rules (including conditionality and funding flows to ports, projects, or countries); and
(h) enforcement, penalties, and potential border or trade adjustment measures.
MARAD is particularly interested in how each mechanism could:
(1) alter operating and capital costs for U.S. flagged and U.S. dependent shipping and logistics; (2) affect import/export unit costs (TEU/ton) and trade competitiveness.
(3) change demand for U.S. energy, technology, and maritime services.
(4) create administrative and compliance burdens; and
(5) risk leakage, double counting, or ineffective mitigation (for example, reliance on offsets that do not deliver measurable reductions).
The study should quantify impacts where feasible, identify key assumptions and uncertainties for each mechanism, and analyze distributional effects across U.S. industries, ports, and regions.
The contractor should compare outcomes under: (A) the NZF as proposed (mechanism by mechanism); (B) alternative designs that limit or reshape levy/offset components; and (C) delayed or phased implementation scenarios. For each mechanism, the study must recommend practical safeguards, alternative policy instruments, or design changes that would reduce unnecessary economic burdens on U.S. interests while maintaining emissions outcomes rooted in reality, and provide clear metrics and analytical methods that MARAD and U.S. negotiators can use to evaluate NZF proposals moving forward. For each mechanism, the study shall compare the proposed mechanism relative to a “No Action” approach to fully distinguish the costs and benefits to U.S. maritime, trade, and economic interests.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Submission Dates and Times.
The deadline for proposal submission is 12:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Please submit proposals in PDF format via email to: Christian Onwudiegwu at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.govand Kelly Mitchell-Caroll at K.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov. Do not send paper copies, or other media of the proposal via post office or delivery service. Proposals received by MARADafter the deadline will not be considered for award. An email will be deemed “received” by MARAD on the date and time the email was “sent” to the email address in Section E.7, below, as determined by MARAD’s servers.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Update #1 ·
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
The U.S. Maritime Administration is commissioning a targeted cost analysis of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) “Net Zero Framework” (NZF), adopted in April 2025, that centers on the NZF’s specific policy mechanisms and their economic consequences for the United States. The study should examine, at minimum, the NZF’s:
(a) global GHG pricing/levy proposals (including scope, price trajectory, and pass-through mechanisms).
(b) emissions trading and crediting systems.
(c) use and role of carbon offsets and related crediting rules.
(d) fuel/energy standard or fuel blending mandates.
(e) technology mandates, exemptions, and phase in schedules.
(f) monitoring, reporting, and verification, auditing and compliance regimes.
(g) Fund governance, revenue collection, and allocation rules (including conditionality and funding flows to ports, projects, or countries); and
(h) enforcement, penalties, and potential border or trade adjustment measures.
MARAD is particularly interested in how each mechanism could:
(1) alter operating and capital costs for U.S. flagged and U.S. dependent shipping and logistics; (2) affect import/export unit costs (TEU/ton) and trade competitiveness.
(3) change demand for U.S. energy, technology, and maritime services.
(4) create administrative and compliance burdens; and
(5) risk leakage, double counting, or ineffective mitigation (for example, reliance on offsets that do not deliver measurable reductions).
The study should quantify impacts where feasible, identify key assumptions and uncertainties for each mechanism, and analyze distributional effects across U.S. industries, ports, and regions.
The contractor should compare outcomes under: (A) the NZF as proposed (mechanism by mechanism); (B) alternative designs that limit or reshape levy/offset components; and (C) delayed or phased implementation scenarios. For each mechanism, the study must recommend practical safeguards, alternative policy instruments, or design changes that would reduce unnecessary economic burdens on U.S. interests while maintaining emissions outcomes rooted in reality, and provide clear metrics and analytical methods that MARAD and U.S. negotiators can use to evaluate NZF proposals moving forward. For each mechanism, the study shall compare the proposed mechanism relative to a “No Action” approach to fully distinguish the costs and benefits to U.S. maritime, trade, and economic interests.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Submission Dates and Times.
The deadline for proposal submission is 12:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Please submit proposals in PDF format via email to: Christian Onwudiegwu at Christian.onwudiegwu@dot.govand Kelly Mitchell-Caroll at K.mitchell-carroll@dot.gov. Do not send paper copies, or other media of the proposal via post office or delivery service. Proposals received by MARADafter the deadline will not be considered for award. An email will be deemed “received” by MARAD on the date and time the email was “sent” to the email address in Section E.7, below, as determined by MARAD’s servers.
*****CAREFULLY REVIEW ENTIRE ATTACHED RFP*****
Files
Notice history
| Notice | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Study on the Economic Impact of the International Maritime Organization Net Zero Framework | Award Notice | |
| This notice | Solicitation |
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