Overview
- At a key meeting in London, the United States formally urged the International Maritime Organization to stop work on its Net‑Zero Framework, signaling a sharp break from earlier momentum.
- The framework would charge ships for emissions above a set limit and direct an estimated $10–12 billion a year to cleaner fuels and support for lower‑income countries.
- Japan has floated a trading system in place of fees, while Liberia, Argentina, and Panama proposed dropping the charges entirely, underscoring deep division over the plan’s core economic tool.
- Pacific island states, including Vanuatu, back adoption as negotiated and warn they will push a universal $150‑per‑tonne emissions levy if the deal is weakened.
- Closures and attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea have driven up fuel costs and stranded more than 150 ships, adding urgency yet complicating unity in the talks.