Latest news with #CO2-cutting
Al Jazeera
11-04-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
UN agrees deal on shipping emissions despite US threats
Countries at the United Nations shipping agency have struck a deal on a global fuel emissions standard for the maritime sector, which will impose an emissions fee on ships that breach it and reward vessels burning cleaner fuels. The United States pulled out of the climate talks at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London this week, urging other countries to do the same and threatening to impose 'reciprocal measures' against any fees charged to US ships. Despite that, other nations have approved the CO2-cutting measures to help meet the IMO's target to cut net emissions from international shipping by 20 percent by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050. A majority of countries at the IMO voted on Friday to approve a scheme that from 2028 will charge ships a penalty of $380 per metric tonne on every extra tonne of CO2-equivalent they emit above a fixed emissions threshold, plus a penalty of $100 a tonne on emissions above a stricter emissions limit. The deal is expected to generate up to $40bn in fees from 2030, some of which will go towards making expensive zero-emission fuels more affordable. The talks have exposed deep rifts between governments over how fast to push the maritime sector to cut its environmental effect. A proposal for a stronger carbon levy on all shipping emissions, backed by climate-vulnerable Pacific countries – which abstained in Friday's vote – plus the European Union and the UK, was dropped after opposition from several countries, including China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, delegates told the Reuters news agency. Vanuatu's climate minister, Ralph Regenvanu, said countries had 'failed to support a set of measures that would have gotten the shipping industry onto a 1.5°C pathway'. Industry group the International Chamber of Shipping welcomed the deal, which it said would require a huge scale-up of such fuels. 'We are pleased that governments have understood the need to catalyse and support investment in zero emission fuels,' ICS said in a statement. In 2030, the main emissions limit will require ships to cut the emissions intensity of their fuel by 8 percent compared with a 2008 baseline, while the stricter standard will demand a 21 percent reduction. By 2035, the main standard will cut fuel emissions by 30 percent, versus 43 percent for the stricter standard. Ships that reduce emissions to below the stricter limit will be rewarded with credits that they can sell to non-compliant vessels. 'This is a groundbreaking moment for the shipping industry, which should signal a turning of the tide on greenhouse gases from global shipping,' Mark Lutes, senior adviser at the NGO World Wildlife Fund for Nature, said in a statement. 'However, key aspects of this agreement fall short of what is needed and risk blowing the transition off course,' he added. The carbon pricing measure must now be formally adopted at an IMO assembly in October.
CBC
11-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ships must limit CO2 emissions under new UN deal
Carbon levy proposal fails amid deep rifts in talks Countries at the UN shipping agency struck a deal on Friday on a global fuel emissions standard for the maritime sector, which will impose an emissions fee on ships that breach it and reward vessels burning cleaner fuels. The U.S. pulled out of the climate talks at the International Maritime Organization in London this week, urging other countries to do the same and threatening to impose "reciprocal measures" against any fees charged to U.S. ships. Despite that, other nations approved the CO2-cutting measures to help meet the IMO's target to cut net emissions from international shipping by 20 per cent by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050. A majority of countries at the IMO voted on Friday to approve a scheme that will set two emissions limits from 2028 — one main limit that all ships are expected to meet and a second stricter emissions limit. Ships that reduce emissions to below this stricter limit will be rewarded. Although agreement was reached, the climate talks exposed deep rifts between governments over how fast to push the maritime sector to cut its environmental impact. A proposal for a stronger carbon levy, backed by the European Union and Pacific nations, was dropped after opposition from countries including China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, delegates told Reuters. How the emissions standards will work Under the agreement, if ships emit more than the first limit, they will face a penalty of $527 per tonne ($380 US) on every extra tonne of CO2 equivalent they emit. Ships will face a lower penalty of $139 a tonne ($100 US) on emissions that exceed the stricter limit but are still below the main emissions limit. For example, in 2030 the main emissions limit will require ships to cut the emissions intensity of their fuel by eight per cent compared with a 2008 baseline, while the stricter standard will demand a 21 per cent reduction. By 2035, the main standard will cut fuel emissions by 30 per cent, versus 43 per cent for the stricter standard. WATCH | Reshaping the shipping industry for a sustainable future: Media Video | The National : Reshaping the shipping industry for a sustainable future Caption: Shipping is the foundation of the global economy, but for years it sailed under the radar for its huge carbon footprint — but not anymore. CBC Chris Brown travels to Denmark to learn more about efforts to push the industry into a sustainable future. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Ships that more than comply with the stricter emissions standard will receive credits that they can sell to non-compliant vessels. Nations including Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran requested a vote on the CO2-cutting measures — an unusual move at the IMO, where decisions are usually taken by consensus without a vote. Countries still need to give final approval to the measure at a meeting in October, before it can take effect in 2028.
