International Maritime Organization (IMO)

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency regulating global shipping, is debating a landmark carbon pricing plan to curb emissions from a sector responsible for nearly 3% of global CO₂ output. The proposal, backed by the European Union and key allies, would create a fund of up to US$12 billion per year to support low-carbon fuels, vessel upgrades, and assistance for developing economies. The United States strongly opposes the plan, calling it a “European overreach” that could raise shipping costs and hurt exporters. The dispute exposes deep divisions over how to share the costs of decarbonizing global trade and will test whether multilateral institutions can still deliver coordinated climate action amid rising geopolitical rivalry.