Landmark global shipping deal delayed after US pressure

A landmark agreement to cut global shipping emissions has been abandoned after pressure from Saudi Arabia and the USA to end the talks, the BBC reported.

More than 100 countries had gathered at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s headquarters in London to approve a deal first agreed in April, which would have seen shipping become the world’s first industry to adopt internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions, the 17 October report said.

However, US President Donald Trump had called the plan a “green scam” and representatives of his administration had threatened countries with tariffs if they voted in favour of it, the BBC wrote.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was quoted as saying the outcome a “huge win” for Trump.

IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez had issued a “plea” that there should be no repetition of the way the meeting had been approached.

On the day of the BBC report – when countries should have been voting to approve the deal – Saudi Arabia tabled a motion to adjourn the talks for a year, which was narrowly approved.

The chairman had said this would mean the agreement would not be approved, as key timelines for the treaty would have had to be revised, the BBC wrote.

Ralph Regenvanu, minister for Climate Change for the Republic of Vanuatu, said Saudi Arabia’s motion was quoted as saying “unacceptable given the urgency we face in light of accelerating climate change”.

“We came to London in reluctant support of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework. While it lacks the ambition that climate science demands, it does mark a significant step,” he said.

The deal had generally been supported by the shipping industry as it offered consistent global standards, the report said.

Speaking after the talks ended, Thomas Kazakos, secretary-general of the industry body the International Chamber of Shipping, was quoted as saying: “We are disappointed that member states have not been able to agree a way forward at this meeting. Industry needs clarity to be able to make the investments.”

While most European Union (EU) nations and the UK had voted to continue the talks, some countries including Greece had gone against the EU bloc and voted to abstain, the BBC wrote.

Some key countries including China that had initially voted to support the deal in April agreed to delay proceedings.

Island states Bahamas also changed their position and Antigua and Barbuda, who agreed in April, abstained. A delegate from the island states group told the BBC that these nations particularly relied on the USA for trade and had been leaned on heavily by the Trump administration to change their position.

First agreed in April after ten years of negotiations, the deal was considered historic as it meant shipping was set to become the first industry in the world with internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions.

The agreement would have meant that from 2028 ship owners would have had to use increasingly cleaner fuels or face fines, the report said.

Shipping currently makes up 3% of global emissions, with levels increasing in line with global trade rises – 90% of goods are currently transported via the sea.

Unlike other sectors shipping has been unable to reduce its emissions, in part due to the lack of cost incentive, according to the report.

Without intervention, the IMO has previously estimated that by 2050 maritime emissions could increase by between 10% and 150%.

The USA had been increasingly vocal about its objections to the plan since April over concerns the move could raise prices for consumers, the BBC wrote.

With talks now delayed the carefully planned timeline to get the regulations in place for 2028 did not appear feasible, the report said.

This article was originally featured in Oil and Fats International.