Trump Administration Withdraws from Talks on Global Carbon Levy at International Maritime Organization

Donald Trump has done to the International Maritime Organization what he did to the Paris Agreement, in choosing to distance the US this week from ongoing talks over a global carbon levy on shipping.

The most eye-catching scene from the ongoing 83rd gathering of the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) are the three empty seats reserved for the US delegation, with the Trump administration not only avoiding the meeting, but, like its tariff tactics, letting it be known that it would look to add reciprocal charges if any US-flagged ships face higher fuel bills.

This week’s MEPC is deciding on whether to implement a universal greenhouse gas (GHG) levy or contribution and/or a GHG fuel standard, both of which are aimed at meeting IMO’s green targets that push shipping to become a net-zero industry by 2050.

The Trump administration, however, has made clear it will have nothing to do with the discussions. On Trump’s first day back in office, he pulled the US out of the United Nations-brokered Paris Climate Agreement, and now he has acted in a similar fashion at another UN body.

In its rebuttal of this week’s talks, the US claimed that by pursuing a net-zero industry shipping would need to rely on “hypothetical expensive and unproven fuels”.

Splash had already reported on Monday that the chances of a universal carbon levy being agreed by member states this week looked slim.

A compromised text proposed during last week’s greenhouse gas (GHG) working group meeting excluded a universal levy and included tiered GHG fuel intensity requirements instead.

“I have real concerns that the package being shaped may not be one that truly protects the most vulnerable or ensures no one is left behind,” commented Albon Ishoda, the Marshall Islands’ special envoy for maritime decarbonisation.

MEPC runs through to Friday evening with Splash set to report on the key takeaways from what had been billed in the run-up as one of shipping’s most important green gatherings ever.