Adopting a carbon price needs approval from two-thirds of IMO member states under its anti-pollution treaty
[LONDON] Singapore on Friday (Oct 17) called on the UN shipping agency to postpone adoption of a carbon price on ships in a bid to find consensus later, as states failed to agree a deal during talks in London following strong opposition from the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Washington and Riyadh, the world’s two largest oil producers, have strongly opposed a carbon price on shipping during talks at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), while the European Union has continued to support the idea. Singapore voted in favour of the carbon price in April’s vote at the IMO.
EU countries and Brazil requested a vote on the carbon price in Friday’s morning session. Adoption of a carbon price in a vote requires acceptance from two-thirds of states that are party to the IMO’s main treaty against shipping pollution.
US President Donald Trump called on IMO member states on Thursday to vote no, saying on his Truth Social platform that Washington would “not stand for this global green new scam tax on shipping and will not adhere to it in any way, shape or form”.
“This week’s IMO meeting in London … appears to be on the verge of collapse,” Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta wrote in an investor note on Friday. REUTERS
