The world’s largest maritime nations were deliberating Friday on regulations that would move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels to slash emissions as U.S. President Donald Trump and others vowed to fight any global tax on shipping emissions.
On Thursday, United States President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social asking countries to vote “No” and that “The United States will not stand for this global green new scam
tax on shipping.”
Representatives from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia and a host of other nations are against the regulations passing through in its current form. The meetings on Friday witnessed a tense start as they continued their discussions from earlier in the week about meeting procedures.
“I put myself out there to try and find a way for you to cooperate and move forward in the normal way that we would,” said Arsenio Dominguez, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization. During his statement, Dominguez added that the way negotiations have happened this week should not be repeated again.
The top shipping nations from across the world are meeting at the International Maritime Organization headquarters in London. If the green shipping regulations are adopted, this will be the first time a global fee is imposed on planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Most ships today run on heavy fuel oil that releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants as it’s burned.
Shipping emissions have grown over the past decade to about 3% of the global total as trade has grown and vessels use immense amounts of fossil fuels to transport cargo over long distances. In April, IMO member states agreed on the contents of the regulatory framework, with the aim of adopting the “Net-Zero Framework” at this London meeting.
“The attempts from the U.S. and others to delay the adoption of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework are an affront to multilateralism and fly in the face of the the courage and ambition shown by member states when it was agreed in April. Thankfully this is not a foregone conclusion and countries can continue to demonstrate the spirit of solidarity that they showed in April when voting to adopt the framework,” said Emma Fenton, senior director for climate diplomacy at a U.K.-based climate change nonprofit, Opportunity Green.
The regulations set a marine fuel standard that decreases, over time, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions allowed from using shipping fuels. The regulations also establish a pricing system that would impose fees for every ton of greenhouse gases emitted by ships above allowable limits, in what is effectively the first global tax on greenhouse gas emissions.
The IMO, which regulates international shipping, set a target for the sector to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by about 2050, and has committed to ensuring that fuels with zero or near-zero emissions are used more widely.
Observers said it is still unclear what will be decided later today.
“By voting for adoption of the framework, governments will make history with the first global carbon price, and set course for reducing shipping’s global impact on the climate," said John Maggs, the Clean Shipping Coalition’s representative at the IMO. “But failing to support the framework will be a missed opportunity, and risks stagnating action at the IMO for years to come.”
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