UN shipping regulator advocates for industry emissions fee at COP30, despite Trump pushback
BELEM Brazil AP The head of the International Maritime Organization stated Monday he s continuing to advocate and campaign for global regulations to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels despite the United States and Saudi Arabia blocking new rules last month IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez spoke at one of the first side events at the United Nations context negotiations beginning this week on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon The side event discussed the shipping industry s efforts to slash carbon toxicity by cutting back on fossil fuels Maritime nations were set to adopt the first global carbon fee on shipping last month at the IMO the U N agency that regulates the international industry They had already agreed on the regulations in April so adopting them was widely expected to be a formality But after much pressure from U S President Donald Trump along with Saudi Arabia and a handful of other countries delegates decided to postpone the decision by a year Trump mentioned then that the U S will not stand for this global green new scam tax on shipping Plan to slash emissions postponed The regulations or Net-Zero Framework would have set a marine fuel standard that decreases over time the amount of greenhouse gas emissions allowed from shipping fuels The regulations also would establish a pricing system that would impose a minimum fee of for every ton of greenhouse gases emitted by ships above allowable limits Shipping emissions have grown over the past decade to about of global greenhouse gas emissions as deal has grown The majority ships this day run on heavy fuel oil that releases carbon dioxide and other pollutants as it s burned Large ships last about years so the industry would need to make changes and investments now to slash its emissions The International Chamber of Shipping which represents over of the world s merchant fleet advocated for the adoption of the regulations Dominguez explained The Associated Press that despite the new rules being blocked progress is continuing to be made on the shipping fee s framework He reported he doesn t blame the United States or other countries for thwarting the new regulations The U S is one of only four nations missing the context conference known as COP along with tiny San Marino and strife-torn Afghanistan and Myanmar In a full room of organizers called maritime enthusiasts Dominguez revealed that the world shouldn t judge the IMO for October s setback and that there s no reason to be upset given how volatile the world is right now Don t think the IMO stops there because we don t he declared We need to learn from this experience these circumstances Dominguez stated he remains positive that countries can adopt a fee on carbon garbage to clean up shipping though it is too early too go into any of the details I will go to everyone to engage proactively in a fair manner to work with all the member states and sectors that need to be part of the decarbonization he revealed Shipping is not going to decarbonize on its own Hopes for future shipping fee remain Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme state envoy for the Netherlands explained in a keynote address after Dominguez s opening remarks that his nation and plenty of other countries were ready to adopt the regulations last month in London which they had expected to celebrate at COP He announced that while the delay in several avenues caused a sense of failure it is equally central to take a cool headed dispassionate view of what happened last month We see its merits for addressing greenhouse gases and contributing to a just and equitable transition he noted We also continue to work constructively with all interested parties to overcome the barricades for its adoption next year Shipping can go impurity free commented Andrew Forrest of Fortescue the Australian green device force and metals company during the IMO side event We re not woke we re not green Forrest commented We re a bunch of very pragmatic scientists and business people who are switching off fossil fuels McDermott revealed from Providence Rhode Island The Associated Press context and environmental coverage receives financial backing from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org This story was produced as part of the Situation Change Media Partnership a journalism fellowship organized by Internews Earth Journalism Structure and the Stanley Center for Peace and Protection Source
