Shipping nations agree on historic greenhouse fuel tax – DW – 04/11/2025 | EUROtoday

Many of the world’s largest transport nations agreed on Friday to what’s successfully the first-ever world tax on greenhouse fuel emissions for the business, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mentioned.

At a gathering in London, they determined to impose a minimal price of $100 for each ton of greenhouse gases emitted by cargo ships above sure thresholds.

The European Union (EU), Brazil, China, India, and Japan all voted in favor of the settlement. Major oil producers, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia voted towards it, whereas the United States abstained from voting.

Shipping accounts for nearly 3% of world greenhouse fuel emissions, in response to the IMO.

How will world pricing assist curb maritime emissions?

Most of the world’s 100,000 cargo ships are nonetheless powered by extremely polluting diesel.

The settlement, set to be carried out by 2027, requires cargo ships to make use of a much less carbon-intensive gas combine that emits much less CO2 or face fines.

The income from the charges, estimated at round $10 billion yearly, will go into the IMO’s web zero fund to put money into fuels and applied sciences wanted to transition to inexperienced transport.

The settlement additionally offers assist to growing nations to encourage their transition to decrease CO2 emissions in transport. There will even be a “reward” for these reaching zero or near-zero greenhouse fuel emissions.

The IMO goals to chop complete annual emissions of greenhouse gases by 50% by mid-century to fulfill the Paris Agreement aim of a maximal 1.5 C (2.7 F) rise within the common world temperature in contrast with the pre-industrial period.

US threatens ‘reciprocal measures’

The settlement was reached regardless of a number of objections. On Wednesday, a US State Department spokesperson mentioned Washington wouldn’t be “engaging in negotiations” since US President Donald Trump’s administration wished to place US pursuits first within the “development and negotiation of any international agreements.”

It additionally threatened “reciprocal measures” to offset any charges charged to US ships.

Environmental teams described the deal as “groundbreaking.”

“[It] should signal a turning of the tide on greenhouse gases from global shipping,” Mark Lutes, senior advisor of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, mentioned.

“However, key aspects of this agreement fall short of what is needed and risk blowing the transition off course,” he added.

Island nations within the Pacific and Caribbean, susceptible to the consequences of local weather change, didn’t vote for the deal because it was not bold sufficient to succeed in decarbonization objectives.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse