Shipping's energy transition hangs in the balance: 10 essential reads on the IMO climate talks
With International Maritime Organization (IMO) negotiations entering their final days, here’s some essential readings to get up to speed with latest development, and what’s at stake for the shipping industry and climate.
This week, countries are gathering at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to agree on global shipping’s pathway to net zero. The sector is responsible for 3% global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year. And yet, to date, there are very few policies limiting international shipping’s climate impact.
With only a couple of days to go, the IMO Member States must agree:
In what way and how much shipping GHG emissions are priced.
How fast the shipping industry will transition to green fuels, zero emissions technologies and alternative energy sources, and what exactly these will be.
How to ensure the transition will be just and equitable, leaving no one behind.
The most ambitious proposals have consistently been championed by bold, climate vulnerable, developing and small island developing states (SIDS), mainly in the Pacific, Caribbean and Africa. Living on the frontlines of the climate crisis and with most at stake, they have argued that only two measures can achieve the necessary emissions reductions while ensuring a just and equitable transition:
A high price universal levy on all GHG emissions.
A stringent global fuel standard.
If you’re struggling to get your head around the talks and what’s at stake, you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve pulled together this selection of must-reads to help you follow the negotiations – but if you’re looking for some context before getting started, head to our IMO primer.
1. ‘Governments set to agree fees for ships that miss green targets’
Joe Lo writes for Climate Home News breaking down the latest proposals on the table entering the final days of negotiations, with commentary from Ambassador Albon Ishoda, the Marshall Islands’ Special Envoy for Maritime Decarbonisation, and Tuvalu’s transport minister Simon Kofe.
2. ‘It’s time for shipping to launch first global tax on a polluting sector’
Ambassador Ali Mohamed, from Office of Kenya's Special Envoy on Climate Change, makes the case for a universal levy on shipping’s GHG emissions to reduce emissions, safeguard the global trade system in the long term and generate climate finance for vulnerable countries.
3. ‘Here’s what to know about nations considering the 1st global tax on emissions for shipping’
Jennifer G. McDermott reports in the Associated Press on negotiations and the prospect of a shipping emissions levy, highlighting how climate-vulnerable states are pushing for fair, ambitious outcomes. Our Senior Director for Climate Diplomacy, Emma Fenton shares their insights.
4. ‘Call for a Fair Course on Global Shipping Energy Transition’
Hon. Manasseh Maelanga, Minister of Infrastructure Development in the Solomon Islands, calls on the IMO to deliver a just and equitable transition, stressing that SIDS should not be left behind in the shift to cleaner shipping.
5. ‘The EU must stand by ambitious IMO policy to secure competitiveness’
Aurelia Leeuw, Director of EU Policy at SASHA Coalition, argues that the EU should support ambitious IMO regulations, a high-price levy and a strong zero or near zero (ZNZ) emission fuel definition, to provide clear demand signals and stability that would drive EU competitiveness goals.
6. ‘Singapore’s maritime leadership at a crossroads: A true bridge-builder must back a strong fuel levy’
Eldine Chilembo Glees, from the Micronesian Center for Sustainable Transport (MCST), argues that Singapore should demonstrate leadership by supporting a robust global levy at IMO to effectively drive the decarbonisation of the shipping industry.
7. ‘GHG levy is opportunity to tackle shipping’s under-taxation and huge climate impact’
Our Senior Director for Economics, James Meadway, outlines in the Financial Times’s Sustainable Views how a GHG levy could correct the shipping industry’s under-taxation, as exposed in recent OG research on the sector’s high profits and low taxes, while generating predictable climate finance to support the energy transition globally.
8. ‘Interview: ‘it’s not over’: Pacific states vow to keep fighting for a GHG levy at MEPC 83’
Our Policy Officer for Climate Diplomacy, Blánaid Sheeran, speaks to Bunkerspot alongside Lloyd Fikiasi and Captain Taasi Pitoi, representatives of Vanuatu and Tuvalu respectively, calling for a levy to remain central to any discussions, emphasising the stakes for climate and equity.
9. ‘Interview: ‘clarity’ and ‘ambition’: industry and Pacific states lay out their hopes for MEPC 83’
Ambassador Albon Ishoda and Edmund Hughes PhD, IBIA’s IMO representative discuss the need for a strong economic measure to align shipping with climate goals and its implications for shipping decarbonisation, particularly for SIDS.
10. ‘Effectively promoting the energy transition and contributing to a just and equitable transition’
This report from UCL Shipping and Oceans Research Group’s Tristan Smith and Marie Fricaudet shows how a credit trading system – rather than a levy – would be insufficient to accelerate decarbonisation, scale up investment in ZNZ fuels and generate the revenue needed to fund a just and equitable transition.
What outcome would deliver for climate and for shipping?
This is a landmark moment for global shipping and the planet. To stay on track with climate goals, the IMO must agree on ambitious measures that cut emissions fast and fairly. To ensure a just and equitable transition, climate-vulnerable countries must be listened to and the end agreement must reflect what they have been calling for.
Opportunity Green is calling for Member States to stand by their commitment to bold action that puts shipping on a clear path to zero and a just and equitable transition that leaves no one behind. This means driving a high-price universal emissions price and stringent global fuel standard.
Learn more about our work on decarbonising shipping at our International Maritime Organization primer.
