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IMO Defers Global Shipping Carbon Price for One Year After U.S.-Led Pushback

A U.S.-led pressure campaign fractured support, prompting a narrow adjournment and a year of renewed lobbying.

Overview

  • Member states voted 57–49 to postpone adoption of the Net‑Zero Framework for one year after Saudi Arabia advanced a motion to defer.
  • President Donald Trump declared the United States would not comply with the proposed fee and the State Department threatened tariffs, visa limits, port measures and sanctions against backers.
  • Several countries shifted positions or abstained, with reports citing Greece, Cyprus, China and Singapore among those that helped tip the balance toward delay.
  • The framework pairs a declining fuel‑carbon standard starting around 2028 with a fee on emissions above limits, expected to raise roughly $10–13 billion annually for cleaner fuels, incentives and support to vulnerable states.
  • Supporters warn the setback injects regulatory uncertainty for shipowners and could spur fragmented regional rules, noting that IMO port‑state powers would have made evasion difficult if the plan were adopted.