IMO postpones imposing shipping carbon taxes by one year

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An extraordinary meeting at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to vote on the world’s first global carbon taxing system on the shipping industry has voted to postpone implementation for one year.

The ‘Net Zero Framework’, which was adopted by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee in April, had been expected to be voted through officially by the IMO.

The IMO has held workshops promoting energy efficiency

It would have placed monitoring and tax burdens on shipping companies according to the amount of carbon dioxide they were seen as emitting with the ultimate aim of reaching net zero carbon by 2050. Fuel intensity limits, carbon taxes and mandatory lifecycle reporting stipulations were all aimed at pushing operators towards cleaner fuels, efficiency upgrades and other technologies across the international fleet – an unprecedented move for the IMO.

US president Donald Trump did not hold back on his feelings about the plan, which he said the US would not stand for, dubbing it a ‘Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping’ on his Truth Social platform, and that the US would ‘not adhere to it in any way, shape or form’.

He threatened retaliatory tariffs, port fees and sanctions in a manner that delegates described as bullying and undiplomatic.

With the backing of Saudi Arabia, another major oil producer, the US seems to have won a temporary victory, with 57 countries agreeing to delay the vote against 49 who wanted it to go ahead. There were 21 abstentions.

While the framework would not have affected vessels below 5,000GT, the IMO has hinted that regulations will shortly be considered for vessels above 400GT, so the year delay in regulating the larger vessels will obviously mean a delay in any regulations for the smaller commercial vessel industry.

“Emotions have run high this week at the IMO, with once high-ambitious alliances wavering and strategies eclipsing reason,” said Anaïs Rios, Shipping Policy Officer, Seas At Risk. “This isn’t the United States of Shipping — no single flag should dictate the world’s climate course. With countries like Saudi Arabia leading efforts to delay, few expected a postponement to prevail but here we are.”