UN Shipping Regulator Advocates For Emissions Fee At COP30, Despite Trump

"BELEM, Brazil — The head of the International Maritime Organization said Monday he’s continuing to “advocate and campaign” for global regulations to move the shipping industry away from fossil fuels, despite the United States and Saudi Arabia blocking new rules last month.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez spoke at one of the first side events at the United Nations climate negotiations beginning this week on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon. The side event discussed the shipping industry’s efforts to slash carbon pollution by cutting back on fossil fuels.

Maritime nations were set to adopt the first global carbon fee on shipping last month at the IMO, the U.N. agency that regulates the international industry. They had already agreed on the regulations in April, so adopting them was widely expected to be a formality.

But after much pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, along with Saudi Arabia and a handful of other countries, delegates decided to postpone the decision by a year. Trump said then that the U.S. “will not stand for this global green new scam tax on shipping.”"

Anton L. Delgado and Jennifer McDermott report for the Associated Press November 10, 2025.

Source: AP, 11/12/2025