Major nations agree on first-ever global tax on greenhouse gases with plan that targets shipping

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and SIBI ARASU Associated Press Plenty of of the world s largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum tax of for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by ships if their planet-heating emissions are not already accounted for making it effectively the first global tax on greenhouse gas emissions The fee will be charged if nations have not contributed enough to the International Maritime Organization s net zero fund and their ships are not meeting their compliance target Members of the International Maritime Organization with the United States noticeably absent reached the agreement which will become effective by The group also set a marine fuel standard to phase in cleaner fuels Emissions from shipping have increased over the last decade to about of the global total according to the United Nations as vessels have gotten bigger delivering more cargo per trip and using immense amounts of fuel IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez declared at the closing that the group forged a meaningful consensus in the face of complex challenges to combat setting change and modernize shipping Particular environmentalists present at the meeting called the emission taxes a historic decision but also commented more could have been achieved The tax doesn t capture all emissions or drive enough emission reductions and it won t raise enough revenue to help advancing countries transition to greener shipping declared Emma Fenton senior director for conditions diplomacy at a U K -based circumstances change nonprofit Opportunity Green The IMO has made an historic decision yet ultimately one that fails atmosphere vulnerable countries and falls short of both the ambition the environment predicament demands and that member states committed to just two years ago they mentioned Other groups welcomed the IMO s decisions as a step in the right direction By approving a global fuel standard and greenhouse gas pricing mechanism the International Maritime Organization took a crucial step to reduce state impacts from shipping Member states must now deliver on strengthening the fuel standard overtime to more effectively incentivize the sector s adoption of zero and near-zero fuels and to ensure a just and equitable potency transition The future of global commerce our planet and maritime communities depend on it commented Natacha Stamatiou of the Environmental Defense Fund The previous day delegates approved a proposal to designate an emissions control area in the North-East Atlantic Ocean Ships traveling through the area will have to abide by more stringent controls on fuels and their engines to reduce defilement The IMO which regulates international shipping has set a target for the sector to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by about and has committed to promoting fuels with zero or near-zero emissions The Marine Setting Protection Committee which is part of the IMO has been in meetings all week in London and finalized its decision Friday One major issue during the meetings was the way a tax would be charged More than countries entered the negotiations pushing for a simple tax charged per metric ton of emissions They were led by Pacific island nations whose very existence is threatened by state change Other countries with sizable maritime fleets notably China Brazil Saudi Arabia and South Africa desired a credit trading model instead of a fixed levy Definitively a compromise between the two models was reached The United States didn t participate in the negotiations in London instead urging other governments to oppose the greenhouse gas emission measures under consideration The Trump administration commented it would reject any efforts to impose economic measures against its ships based on emissions or fuel choice which it disclosed would burden the sector and drive inflation It threatened manageable reciprocal measures if any fees are charged The Associated Press weather and environmental coverage receives financial backing from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org