After two weeks of intense negotiations at the UN's shipping regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a noticeable shift toward forcing environmentally cleaner practices in shipping has occurred, according to Climate Nexus, a non-profit journalism and climate communication organization. At the meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in London March 18-22, a 2:1 majority emerged of nations rallying behind an internationally imposed pollution fee, raising hopes of a universal greenhouse gas (GHG) price for shipping.

“The tide has turned with an overwhelming surge of support for a robust GHG levy,” the non-profit said in a statement March 21.

Thirty-four countries, both developing and developed states from across the Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and North America, expressed support for a universal GHG price at the meeting. The Caribbean Island states, many of which spoke at IMO for the first time, helped to secure this majority. Meanwhile, 14 countries continued to favor a weaker economic mechanism as part of other measures, as opposed to a separate, universal GHG levy.

“An ambitious pricing mechanism, such as the one put forward by Belize and the Pacific Islands, would get polluters to pay their fair share for the impacts caused by their emissions; help close the price gap between fossil and zero-emission fuels, creating the market for the technologies we need; and, crucially, financially support climate vulnerable countries to achieve a just and equitable transition that leaves no country behind," said Ana Laranjeira, Shipping Manager, Opportunity Green. 

“With growing support for a universal greenhouse gas price, country delegates must now develop the right policy details to incentivize shipping decarbonization,” said Panos Spiliotis, EU Transport Senior Manager, Global Shipping and IMO delegation lead, Environmental Defense Fund.

The news comes after critics of the IMO warned that if it did not accelerate its efforts, more individual countries would begin to adopt legislation setting their own standards. Two bills were brought before the U.S. Senate in June 2023, proposing emissions-related standards and fees that would generate money to tackle the problem of shipping’s poor environmental record.

The first — the Clean Shipping Act of 2023 — would follow the EU’s lead by directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set progressively tighter carbon intensity standards for fuels used by ships in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, consistent with a 1.5°C decarbonization pathway set out in the Paris climate agreement. 

The second proposed piece of legislation, the International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act, would levy a pollution fee on large marine vessels, over 10,000 gross tons, offloading cargo at U.S. ports. According to the sponsors, this size threshold would exclude most domestic shipping, placing the onus on the international industry. This proposed legislation calls for imposing a $150 per ton fee on the carbon emissions of the fuel burned on the inbound trip, as well as fees for the nitrogen oxides ($6.30/lb.), sulfur dioxide ($18/lb.), and particle pollution (PM2.5) ($38.90/lb.).