Thanks To "Bullying", "Intimidation" From Trump Reps, All-But-Assured Small Levy On Maritime Emissions Scrapped

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Under intense pressure from Donald Trump’s government, countries have postponed plans to force shipowners to start paying for the damage they do to the climate. US officials were accused of “bullying” and “intimidation”, as nations met in London for what should have been the rubber-stamping of a decision made months ago to place a small levy on the greenhouse gases from global shipping.

Instead, after four days of intense wrangling, the US efforts appeared to pay off in a decisive vote late on Friday afternoon at the International Maritime Organisation headquarters in London. A majority of countries present voted to put the plans for an emissions pricing mechanism on hold for a year. While this means the measure survives, and could still be imposed, it also gives the US and its allies – including Russia, Saudi Arabia and other petrostates – an opportunity to step up their pressure on other countries to ditch the charge.

Arsenio Dominguez, the IMO secretary general, said the outcome was not a cause for celebration. Taking aim at the fractious nature of the discussions, he chided delegates: “It is the time to really look back at how we have approached this meeting. My plea to you is not to repeat the way we have approached this meeting for future discussions.” The measure, which would mean shipowners pay a small charge on the CO2 produced by their vessels and have incentives to seek cleaner fuels and upgrade their ships, was passed in a majority vote in April. But under the complex rules of the world’s shipping regulator, that vote had to be reaffirmed at a further meeting this week.

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In the final tally, 57 countries voted favour of delay, with 49 countries against delaying, and 21 abstentions. In April, the measure had passed with the support of 63 member states and 16 countries against, though the US walked out and 24 countries abstained. Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s climate minister, expressed the frustration of many small developing nations: “This is unacceptable given the urgency we face in light of accelerating climate change.” After Friday’s vote, countries will have to reconvene in a year to consider the proposal again. The delay means uncertainty and confusion for companies involved in shipping and in the global trade in many key commodities.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/17/shipping-emissions-levy-shelved-as-countries-bow-to-us-pressure

[thought crime]

1. This will go mostly unnoticed by the public

The effort to stop or delay action against Maritime emissions goes mostly unnoticed by the public at large, but has a huge global impact. The Maritime industry is poised to change over to low emissions but needs commitment from governments to assure competitiveness.