More than 100 countries at the International Maritime Organisation meeting in London in mid-October failed to approve a deal, thrashed out six months earlier, which would have seen shipping become the world’s first industry to adopt internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions.
Delegates voted narrowly to adjourn the talks for a year, on a motion put forward by Saudia Arabia, following threatened US tariffs on countries that supported the targets.
Thomas Kazakos, secretary-general of the industry body, the International Chamber of Shipping, said they were disappointed that member states have not been able to agree a way forward, as industry needed clarity to be able to make investment.
The deal, drawn up in April after ten years of negotiations, meant that from 2028 ship owners would have to use increasingly cleaner fuels or face fines.
Shipping currently makes up three per cent of global emissions, with levels increasing in line with global trade rises – 90% of goods are currently transported via the sea.
Unlike other sectors, shipping has been unable to reduce its emissions, in part due to the lack of cost incentive, with diesel remaining by far the cheapest fuel.
Without intervention the International Maritime Organisation previously estimated that by 2050 emissions could grow by between 10% and 150%.
