A global agreement to drive down greenhouse gas emissions from shipping has finally been agreed. Is it a huge leap forward, a huge disappointment, or a bit of both?
Earlier this month, the UN’s International Maritime Organization agreed the rules for the emissions pricing mechanism, which should be formally adopted in October and would mean ships need to start paying for their carbon emissions from 2028.
(Ned Molloy wrote about plans for the levy for Dialogue Earth last year, and why it is potentially such a big deal.)
With shipping contributing 3% of manmade greenhouse gas emissions, the BBC called the agreement a “global breakthrough”. While Xinhua labelled it a “landmark emissions deal”.
The draft rules require ships to gradually lower the “greenhouse gas fuel intensity” (GFI) of their operation. They can do this by using cleaner fuel, employing technologies like sails, or potentially offsetting their emissions. The rules also bring in what the organisation calls a “global economic measure”. This means the owner of a ship with emissions above a threshold set for its GFI has to pay into an IMO Net-Zero Fund. Payments will start at USD 100 per tonne of CO2 equivalent for ships that meet a more difficult emission-reduction target, rising to USD 380 if the ship misses an easier target.
That fund will pay out to low-emission ship owners, support technology transfer and aid the transition to lower emission shipping in developing countries. It will also give money to deal with the impact of climate change in small island developing states and least developed countries.
Not all of those states were happy with the outcome though. Some Pacific island states abstained on a final vote, saying the rules were too weak. NGOs pushing for cleaner shipping were also unimpressed, not least because they wanted a flat tax per tonne of carbon emissions.
Other countries do not want the levy at all. Russia, Saudi Arabia and other states voted against the draft rules, but the IMO does not require unanimous agreement.
In total 16 nations opposed the rules, 63 backed them and 24 abstained. The US withdrew before the talks took place.