States again failed to agree on a deal following pressure from a small minority of fossil-fuel producing nations and division among progressive states.
Negotiations at the IMO have drawn a blank for the third meeting in a row, as US and Saudi-led efforts to scupper progress were successful. With delegates from vulnerable countries highlighting the tragic cost of this year’s climate disasters, action is far too slow, warns T&E.
While pragmatic negotiators, including the EU, signalled openness to compromise measures such as avoiding a centralised fund and weakening greenhouse gas targets, US and Saudi negotiators largely held their ground. T&E urged negotiators not to cave to the Trump administration’s crusade to sacrifice ambitious targets in favor of fossil gas and crop biofuels - a lose-lose deal for the climate and for future-proofing the industry.
The continued failure to find an ambitious common ground not only puts shipping off course to decarbonise, but locks fossil fuel importing states and the shipping industry into continued dependency. During the Hormuz crisis, dependence on oil cost the industry roughly €340 million a day, according to T&E estimates. (....)