Global Maritime Decarbonisation Stalls Despite the Accelerating Impact of Climate Change

Global talks on cutting shipping emissions broke down again this week, marking the third straight failed attempt at the International Maritime Organization to agree on a plan for the industry. The United States and Saudi Arabia led the resistance, blocking measures that other countries, including the European Union, had signaled willingness to accept. Delegates from countries hit hardest by climate disasters this year said the pace of action is far too slow.

This is a global policy story with no direct step for homeowners to take. Shipping runs on fossil fuels worldwide, and the industry has struggled to agree on rules that would push it toward cleaner fuels and lower emissions. Advocacy groups tracking the talks say the continued delay keeps the industry, and countries that import fuel, locked into dependence on oil. As an example of the cost of that dependence, they point to a recent oil-supply crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, which they estimate cost the shipping industry roughly 340 million euros a day.

The next major round of talks is scheduled for late November into early December. Advocates are pushing governments to reach a binding global agreement then, aimed at getting shipping to net-zero emissions by 2050, and are urging individual countries not to wait on a global deal before acting on their own to cut emissions from ships. Nothing here changes rebates, incentives, or programs available to homeowners; it's background on a separate front in the broader effort to cut carbon emissions worldwide.