US-led pressure on shipping deal an attack on EU sovereignty, says T&E

The US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries are pressuring the EU to abandon its green shipping measures in an effort to force Europe to accept a much weaker global deal. Caving into US demands would reverse years of progress and hand control of Europe’s decarbonisation and energy transition to foreign oil interests, says T&E.

The Net Zero Framework (NZF), currently being negotiated at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is under attack from a US-led effort to block a global agreement that would put 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.

While the NZF would be an important global platform for decarbonising shipping, it is far weaker than the EU’s already existing legislation, says T&E. It will lead to mass adoption of crop-based biofuels that have been associated with deforestation and food security concerns.

The EU cannot sacrifice its own climate and industrial sovereignty to the discretion of the US. The IMO rules would, for example, exempt 85% of Europe’s shipping emissions from carbon pricing, while also removing current safeguards against harmful biofuels. Abandoning the ETS would see Europeans losing out on at least €10bn in revenues a year.

William Todts, executive director of T&E, said: “This is a shameless attempt to undermine Europe’s sovereignty. 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.”