GLOBAL DIVIDE DEEPENS AS U.S. OPPOSES IMO ZET-ZERO MARITIME NETWORK
After manoeuvring to derail the adoption of the maritime decarbonisation framework at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) last October, Washington remains “strongly opposed” to any instrument that would accompany a phase-out of fossil fuels and allow an international body to raise revenues - an element included in the agreement initially under discussion at the IMO.
The United States is also calling for the framework for “net-zero emissions” to be entirely set aside, Fontini Ioannidou, Director for Waterborne Transport at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), told the European Parliament’s Environment Committee on 15 April. In the ongoing contest for influence, “they are engaging with everyone, including us,” she noted.
According to the Commission official, IMO Member States remain deeply divided: between those supporting the net-zero framework, those seeking to strengthen it further, and those advocating for negotiations based on entirely different proposals. The latter group includes not only the United States, but also Argentina, Panama, Liberia and several Gulf States, Ioannidou added.
Source: European Parliament