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Climate Solutions Countries agree to global carbon tax on shipping, opposed by Trump The agreement, which the Trump administration opposes, makes the shipping industry the first to face international binding emissions targets. Updated April 11, 2025

 

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Member states of a United Nations agency focused on maritime shipping and pollution agreed Friday to a global deal to tax carbon emissions from ships — a measure that the Trump administration opposes.

The draft agreement, which is set to be formally adopted in October, makes the shipping industry the first to face international binding emissions targets. The International Maritime Organization, the U.N. agency that convened the talks on adopting the framework, has set a goal for shipping to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The talks were attended by over one hundred countries. The Trump administration withdrew earlier this month, and said it could reciprocate against any fees imposed on U.S. ships. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

If adopted, the agreement would enter into effect in 2027.

The framework imposes a new standard for the volume of emissions per unit of energy used by the ship, and calls on ships to reduce their emission intensity over time. Shipowners who do not meet certain emission targets will have to offset their emissions or pay into the IMO net-zero fund.

Money in the net-zero fund is to be used to reward ships with low emissions, support clean energy research, further the IMO’s greenhouse gas reduction initiatives and support states vulnerable to climate change.

IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said the agreement “represents another significant step in our collective efforts to combat climate change, to modernize shipping and demonstrates that IMO delivers on its commitments.”

The deal faces opposition from many sides. In addition to pushback from the United States, major oil-producing states such as Saudi Arabia and Russia opposed the measure.

“2030 is less than 5 years away and as a matter of scientific, engineering and technical reality it will not be possible to reduce emissions beyond 6% within that time frame for all ships, leading to unnecessary penalization that will result in significant impacts on trade, food and energy security and our beloved sector,” wrote a group of states objecting to the proposal.

Meanwhile, island nations and environmental groups have said the deal is not sufficient to hit the IMO’s targets.

“While the targets are a step forward, they will need to be improved if they are to drive the rapid fuel shift that will enable the maritime sector to reach net zero by 2050,” said Jesse Fahnestock, director of decarbonization at the Global Maritime Forum, a nonprofit focused on decarbonization in the maritime shipping industry.

The vast majority of global trade happens via maritime shipping, and the industry is responsible for approximately 3 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. According to the U.S. Energy Department, the maritime shipping industry would rank sixth if compared to countries that emit the largest volume of greenhouse gases.

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Mikhail Klimentov is an assistant editor on the Foreign desk’s breaking news team, handling coverage during afternoon/evening hours in Washington.@leadergrev

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