Clean Shipping Won’t Come Soon to the World: The World Tried a Big Pollution Tax — But It Fell Apart

A plan to charge ships for polluting the climate was almost passed — but it did not make it.

A strong push from the U.S. helped stop the “world’s first global carbon tax.” The idea was that all big ships would pay a fee for the pollution they make.

People thought this tax would be agreed on during a meeting in London under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). But after four hard days of talking, countries decided to wait 12 months before voting.

The U.S. opposed the tax. President Donald Trump called it a “scam tax.” The U.S. also said it might punish countries that supported the tax.

Some countries liked the idea — places like the European Union, Brazil, and small island nations. But oil-producing countries like the United States and Saudi Arabia strongly said no.

The U.S. said it would not allow any plan that would raise costs for its citizens, energy companies, shipping firms, or tourists. It threatened to block ships from U.S. ports, make visa rules harder, and add fees or sanctions.

On social media, Trump said he was “outraged” and called it a “Global Green New Scam Tax.”

Because of disagreements, Singapore suggested delaying the vote, and Saudi Arabia called for a vote on the delay. The vote to delay passed.

A carbon tax on shipping would have been historic — the first ever with legal power. But critics said oil states fought hard to stop it.

The shipping industry makes about 3% of the world’s heat-trapping pollution. Experts say this could grow to 17% by 2050 if nothing changes.

Because shipping often goes through international waters, it’s harder to know who should be responsible.

Many people say missing this chance is a big loss. Every delay slows new inventions, deepens unfairness, and makes turning to clean shipping harder and more expensive.

Experts worry this failure sends a bad message for future climate meetings, including the big COP30 conference coming up.

A leader from Vanuatu said the failure shows that the United Nations agency didn’t act when it needed to and that reaching future goals will be harder.

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