Ahead of latest IMO meeting, the British Prime Minister backs plans for a new global carbon pricing regime for the shipping industry
Keir Starmer used his speech to the UN General Assembly late last week to underline the new British government's support for bolder climate action on the international stage, declaring that "the UK will lead again, tackling climate change, at home and internationally and restoring our commitment to international development".
Speaking ahead of a busy autumn of international climate negotiations, Starmer insisted the UK would join with those countries calling for more ambitious commitments on climate finance reforms and decarbonisation efforts.
Specifically, he argued governments "must put a price on the true cost of emissions through a new levy on global shipping with the proceeds going to tackle climate change and cut emissions even further".
The intervention came ahead of the start of the latest round of talks for the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which kicks off today in London. The Committee will once again discuss a series of proposals designed to accelerate efforts across the global shipping industry to deliver on its long term goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Delaine McCullough, president of the Clean Shipping Coalition of green NGOs, said there was "growing support for a ship greenhouse gas levy and fuel standard".
"These need to be urgently agreed, but they are not enough on their own," she said. "Unless IMO member states show an equal commitment to revision of the organisation's energy efficiency rules - the CII - international shipping will be unable to meet the crucial emission-reduction targets that it agreed only last year. Having the GHG levy and fuel standard, along with the CII revision, will ensure the shipping sector maximises energy efficiency to immediately cut emissions, drive the uptake of onboard wind and solar propulsion and investment in scalable zero-emission fuels, and guarantee an equitable and just transition to zero-emission shipping."
Ever since the Paris Agreement in 2015, governments have been negotiating a range of policy interventions to help ensure the shipping industry meets its net zero targets. However, the talks have been repeatedly stymied by opposition from some countries to measures they fear could push up the cost of shipping and impact global trade.
The IMO talks this week are the first in a string of international climate meetings this autumn, including the upcoming COP16 Biodiversity Summit in Colombia and the COP29 Climate Summit in Azerbaijan.
In his address to the UN General Assembly, Starmer insisted the UK would honour its climate pledges, including its climate finance commitments.
"I know that finance is at the heart of this," he said. "So the UK will continue to be a leading contributor to international climate finance. That includes supporting nature and forests because this is vital for biodiversity and reducing emissions, and it includes funding for climate adaptation, because those who did not cause this crisis should not be left to cope with the consequences."
But he also argued that "public finance will never fully meet the needs" and called for urgent reforms to help unlock much greater levels of private investment in climate-related projects.
"We will use our seat on the boards of the IMF and World Bank to argue for a bolder approach, to tackle unsustainable debt which is compounding poverty and inequality, depriving the sick of healthcare and children of education," he said. "We must tackle the barriers to investment which choke off the flow of private finance… Crucially, we need to accelerate reform of the Multilateral Development Banks so that they shoulder more risk, unlocking hundreds of billions more to help the poorest and build a low-carbon global economy."
And he announced the UK government is to create a new facility in British International Investment, which will "work with the City of London to mobilise billions in pension and insurance funds, to invest in boosting development and fighting climate change".
Elsewhere at the UN General Assembly, the incoming Presidencies of the three COP Summits to take place this autumn - the COP29 Climate Summit in Azerbaijan, the COP16 Biodiversity Summit in Colombia, and the COP16 Desertification Summit in Saudi Arabia - announced they have formed the 'Rio Trio Initiative' to better co-ordinate alignment across the three negotiating tracks established by the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
"By enhancing collaboration across the three Rio Conventions, we aim to unlock synergies, enhance efficiency, and drive concrete outcomes that benefit people and the planet," said COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev. "This is about recognising that the goals of the respective conventions are intrinsically linked and that progress in one area can catalyse advances in others.
"This initiative represents a critical opportunity to create integrated, lasting solutions for our planet's most pressing environmental challenges. We urge the international community to join forces and build a more sustainable future for all."
The COP29 Presidency hosted a series of meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as it continues to lay the diplomatic groundwork for the Baku Summit where it is hoping to deliver a new international agreement on climate finance and progress towards the goal agreed at last year's COP28 Summit to treble renewables capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
But campaigners criticised the COP29 hosts, alleging that the presidency has failed to make meaningful progress on the landmark pledge made at last year's Summit to transition away from fossil fuels.
Andreas Sieber, associate director of policy and campaigns at campaign group 350.org, highlighted how the COP29 Presidency's speech to UN General Assembly made no mention of the commitment to phase out fossil fuels.
"This has become a worrisome pattern," he said. "If Azerbaijan is really 'ready to lead in the climate crisis', why is it not mentioning how it will stop its main cause: burning oil, gas and coal?
"The world is moving forward on this transition, as made clear by other leaders in New York. As COP29's presidency, Azerbaijan must live up to this reality by showing the world how it will deliver ambitious targets aligned with 1.5C and drive global progress. If Azerbaijan doesn't do more, it will lose once and for all the little credibility it still has left."
A new report last week from campaign group Oil Change International revealed how last year's COP hosts the UAE, this year's hosts Azerbaijan, and next year's hosts Brazil are collectively planning to increase their oil and gas production by 33 per cent by 2035.
It was followed this week by a report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), which shows that G20 governments are spending three times as much on fossil fuels as renewables.
In the first inventory of its kind, IISD tracked the public financial support G20 governments delivered to renewable power, grids, and storage over the past four years and compared it with estimated fossil fuel subsidies. In 2023, renewable support was at least $168bn, compared to an estimated $535bn in fossil fuel subsidies.
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