A US-led alliance of oil-producing nations is pressing the EU to abandon its own clean shipping decarbonisation measures in exchange for supporting a weaker IMO deal, according to Transport & Environment (T&E).
The environmental group said the US, joined by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and others, is leading efforts at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to persuade the EU to scale back its regional decarbonisation framework as part of negotiations on the new Net Zero Framework (NZF).
In return, the EU would be expected to back a watered-down global plan that places only a modest price on shipping emissions.
“The US-led climate denialist grouping is now pushing for the EU to drop its own carbon pricing for shipping (ETS) and green fuels mandates as part of its FuelEU Maritime law,” T&E said.
T&E warned that such a trade-off would reverse years of progress and hand control of Europe’s energy transition to “foreign oil interests.”
“The EU cannot sacrifice its climate and industrial sovereignty to the discretion of the US,” T&E said.
According to the NGO, the IMO proposal would exempt about 85% of Europe’s shipping emissions from carbon pricing and allow the use of unsustainable crop-based biofuels, while scrapping measures that currently generate around €10 billion a year for the bloc through the ETS.
“This is a shameless attempt to undermine Europe’s sovereignty, said William Todts, executive director of T&E.
“EU negotiators must not cave into efforts to torch vital climate measures that have been all the way through Europe’s elected Parliament.
“Europeans want strong climate action, to give in to the demands of the US and other petrostates would be a huge betrayal.”
The final vote to adopt the IMO framework is expected tomorrow.
