October 18, 2025

The big fight over cutting ship pollution just got spicier! On Friday, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN group in London watching shipping, delayed a major vote on a plan to cut carbon emissions from ships. This was a big win for the United States, which strongly opposed the plan. Back in April, IMO members agreed on a global pricing system to charge ships for their pollution to help save the planet. But the US threw a wrench in the works. President Donald Trump slammed the plan as a “scam,” warning that the US would punish countries backing it through sanctions and visa limits. The discussions turned tense, especially between oil-exporting countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and others that want to fight climate change. Russia called the talks “chaos,” while Saudi Arabia said it agreed with the US that the issues needed clearer debate. Instead of voting on the approval, delegates picked a last-minute resolution to postpone the vote until next year. The decision passed narrowly, 57 to 49 votes. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, representing 176 countries, asked delegates to avoid such conflict. He said, "It doesn't help your organisation, it doesn't help yourself." Trump’s climate stance has flipped since January, pushing fossil fuel use and reversing earlier climate commitments. On his social platform Truth Social, he raged, “I am outraged that the International Maritime Organization is voting in London this week to pass a global Carbon Tax.” The plan, called the Net Zero Framework (NZF), would make ships cut carbon from 2028 or pay money. Shipping contributes nearly 3% of all global greenhouse gases. The system aims to push cleaner fuels in the industry. Some countries, like the Philippines and Caribbean islands, worry about sanctions and visa bans hurting their sailors and cruise businesses. Pacific Island states, who were unsure before, had planned to support the plan but were surprised by the delay. If passed, the NZF would be hard to dodge because IMO rules let countries stop and inspect ships at ports – even hold vessels that don’t follow the rules. For now, the vote waits another year while the world watches. Will greener seas sail in soon, or will politics keep the smoke billowing from ships’ stacks? Stay tuned!

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Tags: Imo, Maritime emissions, Carbon pricing, Trump, Shipping, Climate change,