Vote on international plan to reduce ship emissions postponed due to US pressure

Member countries of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have decided to postpone a decision on an ambitious plan to reduce pollution from ships for a year due to pressure from the United States to block the initiative.

The IMO proposal, approved in April by a large majority, was due to be ratified this Friday (17) at a meeting of the UN maritime agency that began on Tuesday (14) in London.

The project seeks to progressively reduce carbon emissions from ships starting in 2028 and includes establishing a fee for excessively polluting vessels.

The IMO said Friday that the vote to approve the initiative has been postponed until next year after the United States threatened sanctions against countries that support the plan.

The ultimate goal is to make shipping operate without emitting greenhouse gases by 2050.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Domínguez of Panama acknowledged on Tuesday, at the opening of the meeting, that the proposal “is not perfect”, but argued that it establishes a “balanced basis”.

The European Union, Brazil and China this week reiterated their support for the "Net Zero Emissions Fund" (or NZF), which seeks to make ships pay a kind of tax on emissions that exceed a certain quota.

This tax would be used to finance a fund that rewards low-emission ships and supports countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Thursday (16) was marked by long negotiations that lasted until dawn and which a Russian diplomat classified as “chaotic”.

The Pacific island countries, which abstained in April because they considered the proposal insufficient, gave in and declared themselves in favor.

However, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the oil-producing countries opposed it.

– Trump outraged –

Washington has threatened visa restrictions, increased port tariffs, and other pressure measures on states that vote in favor.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he was "outraged" that the IMO voted this week to impose a "global tax" on carbon emissions and said his country would not accept such a tax on "maritime transport."

A Brazilian diplomat denounced the “methods” of the United States in a plenary session on Friday and expressed his hope that this attitude “will not replace the usual way of making decisions at a global level.”

A European source admitted to AFP that these pressures could affect "countries that, unfortunately, are more sensitive to the influence" of the United States.

IMO regulations are generally approved unless one-third of its 176 members object (or the equivalent of half the global merchant fleet).

The United States this week advocated changing the voting process to give more weight to abstentions.

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