President Donald Trump used his address to the United Nations General Assembly to renew his attack on the International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework, accusing the UN shipping agency of attempting to impose a global carbon tax that would drive up transportation costs. “Last year, my administration was forced to intervene to stop an obscure U.N. body, the International Maritime Organization, from secretly establishing a first-ever global carbon tax,” Trump said, claiming the measure would raise international shipping costs by “10 to 20% — and maybe more than that.” He added, “There is no global government,” and “while I’m president, there will be no global taxes.”
The remarks elevate a fight that has been playing out at the IMO for more than a year and come as member states prepare for another attempt to finalize the framework in December. The Trump administration played a major role in last year’s decision to postpone adoption, with U.S. officials threatening countries supporting the framework with measures including tariffs, visa restrictions, port fees and sanctions ahead of the vote, which the extraordinary Marine Environment Protection Committee session ultimately postponed for one year following a 57-49 tally. The proposed mechanism, which supporters call a greenhouse-gas pricing system tied to ships’ emissions performance rather than a tax, could generate an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion annually to fund cleaner marine fuel development, though opponents including the U.S. and several oil-producing nations continue to raise concerns over its economic impact.
Source: gCaptain — https://gcaptain.com/trump-takes-aim-at-imo-shipping-carbon-plan-at-un/
Tags: IMO, Net-Zero Framework, Decarbonization, United Nations
