|
Listen now
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The world’s shipping regulator postponed a decision on adopting a landmark charge on vessel emissions, a shock move that highlights the Trump administration’s efforts to disrupt international climate diplomacy.
The postponement marks a setback for multilateral environmental regulations ahead of next month’s COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
Countries gathered at the International Maritime Organization’s London headquarters this week to decide on whether to make ships start paying for the more than 1 billion tons of greenhouse gases they emit each year.
On Friday, they voted to push back that ballot for a year, following a proposal put forward by Saudi Arabia.
Industry insiders had previously expected the rules to pass, despite US pressure. They’ve been years in the making, and would be the world’s first global, fixed charge on emissions for any industry — designed to initially potentially raise over $10 billion a year.
They would also pave the way for the end of oil as shipping’s dominant fuel and open the door for cleaner alternatives like ammonia.
While the plan had clear international support back in April, that wavered this week as the US dialed up pressure, threatening wide-ranging measures against those who backed the planned rules that President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was “outraged” about.
The decision’s delay demonstrates the effect that pressure from the Trump administration can have.
The US strongly opposed the ship emissions charges, calling them a “global carbon tax” on Americans and warning of “disastrous” economic impacts. It had urged other nations to reject the regulations from “an unaccountable UN organization,” saying some estimates had forecast shipping costs to jump as much as 10% or more.
The State Department had said it would consider measures such as port levies, visa restrictions, commercial penalties and sanctions on officials.
Trump said the US wouldn’t adhere to the carbon tax “in any way, shape, or form,” and that he was “outraged” that the IMO was holding a vote.
“Stopping this disastrous vote is a massive win for the American people and countries around the world,” said White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers.
The maritime industry accounts for over four-fifths of the world’s trade and more than 1% of all emissions, and the carbon levy was a key part of the IMO’s push for international shipping to reach net zero by around mid-century.
Follow the MoneyCentral Nigeria channel on WhatsApp: Click here!
