UN strikes deal on shipping emissions despite US threats
Countries at the United Nations shipping agency have reached an agreement on a global fuel emissions standard for the maritime sector. The new framework will impose emissions fees on ships that exceed the set limits and provide incentives for vessels that use cleaner fuels.
The United States pulled out of the climate talks at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London this week, urging other countries to do the same and threatening to impose “reciprocal measures” against any fees charged to US ships, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Despite that, other nations have approved the CO2-cutting measures to help meet the IMO’s target to cut net emissions from international shipping by 20 percent by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050.
A majority of countries at the IMO voted on Friday to approve a scheme that from 2028 will charge ships a penalty of $380 per metric tonne on every extra tonne of CO2-equivalent they emit above a fixed emissions threshold, plus a penalty of $100 a tonne on emissions above a stricter emissions limit.
The deal is expected to generate up to $40bn in fees from 2030, some of which will go towards making expensive zero-emission fuels more affordable.
The talks have exposed deep rifts between governments over how fast to push the maritime sector to cut its environmental effect.
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