Maritime transport will start paying for its climate impact in 2028

The International Maritime Organization rejects creating a tax to penalize emissions, but moves towards an emissions trading system to incentivize clean fuels
Shipping companies will have to pay for the carbon dioxide produced by their ships, according to new rules recently agreed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London. Although the idea put forward by Pacific Island States and other countries to establish a tax to tax each tonne of CO₂ emitted did not prosper, the green light has finally been given to the implementation of an emissions market system, with penalties and rewards by virtue of the degree of compliance with the IMO’s decarbonisation targets. Most of them were achieved thanks to the support of the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, many Latin American countries and China. Sixteen states, mainly oil-producing countries, including Iran, Qatar, the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia voted against. Twenty-three IMO Member States abstained. The commitment means that all ships will have to pay for the CO₂ they emit from 2028.

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