I find myself agreeing with the US administration on this one: the International Maritime Organisation, the United Nations body in charge of regulating shipping, has come up with a convoluted scheme which will funnel money to China. They're saying their proposal will save the planet, but that's not the case. What it will do is send people to buy new ships, and guess what, China currently makes more than 50% of all cargo ships.
The idea is to create a global tax on shipping, whereby less efficient vessels will pay money to more efficient vessels. That's the crux of it, but worryingly, the money heads into a fund set up by the IMO, who then pay out to these ideal operators. What could go wrong with that idea? Oh, lots could go wrong, that's what. Think - corruption.
But here's the thing, if you want clean green ships, how about just allowing these newer vessels accelerated depreciation, and older vessels no discount, or no depreciation at all. This would incentivise shipowners to invest in newer, cleaner burning engines.
Yeah, but they'll never do something like that, because this is not about the climate. It is about control, and when you realise that, your mind can be clear and you will see the light.
Anyway, the US is not best pleased, and I should hope not. Stamp on the IMO's proposal with a steel boot.
President Trump has made it clear that the United States will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the United States or harms the interests of the American people. This October, members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are poised to consider the adoption of a so-called “Net-Zero Framework,” aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions from the international shipping sector.
Whatever its stated goals, the proposed framework is effectively a global carbon tax on Americans levied by an unaccountable UN organization. These fuel standards would conveniently benefit China by requiring the use of expensive fuels unavailable at global scale. These standards would also preclude the use of proven technologies that fuel global shipping fleets, including lower emissions options where U.S. industry leads such as liquified natural gas (LNG) and biofuels. Under this framework, ships will have to pay fees for failing to meet unattainable fuel standards and emissions targets. These fees will drive up energy and transportation and leisure cruise costs. Even small vessels would incur millions of dollars in fees, directly driving up costs for American consumers.
https://www.imo.org/en/mediacentre/hottopics/pages/faqs-the-imo-net-zero-framework.aspx
