Participants at the Paris summit on finance and climate have stopped short of a deal to create a tax on greenhouse gas emissions produced by international shipping.
The two-day gathering of world leaders and finance bosses, aimed at tackling climate change and poverty, ended without a major announcement on Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the summit, said upcoming reforms of the international finance system would be assessed within the next two years.
The idea of a global tax on the greenhouse gas emissions produced by international shipping has been gaining traction and could be adopted at a July meeting of the International Maritime Organisation, the United Nations’ agency regulating shipping.
Some experts believe a tax on shipping alone could raise £78 billion a year, and a strong endorsement of it in Paris would have provided Mr Macron with a symbolic win.
“This is a tax-free sector. And there’s no reason why it’s not taxed,” he said.
But the French president suggested China and the US were not supporting the idea.
“If China and the US and several key European countries are not on board, then you would put a tax in place that would not have any impact,” he added.
The money raised through taxation would be directed towards developing countries to help them deal with the challenges of climate change.
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen called the tax “a very constructive suggestion”, adding: “I think I would agree with President Macron’s description of the logic of why it would be appropriate, and it’s something that the United States will look at.”
It is unclear which countries attending the summit supported the proposal, which could be an important step towards getting a heavily emitting industry to help meet the cost of fighting climate change.
Shipping accounts for almost 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Maritime Organisation. A European Parliament report has warned that share could increase dramatically by 2050.
The gathering in Paris had no mandate to make formal decisions, but Mr Macron had pledged to deliver a to-do list that would be accompanied by a progress-tracking tool. Such a document has not been released yet.
Several activists and non-governmental organisations had urged the summit participants to ensure that rich countries commit to debt relief for poor nations, including the cancellation of loans. A debt suspension clause for countries hit by extreme climatic events was also discussed.
To bring in more money, activists are also pushing for a tax on the fossil fuel industry and another one on financial transactions — but those two proposals appear to have little support from wealthier nations.
In terms of concrete announcements in Paris, the International Monetary Fund has made £78 billion of assets — called Special Drawing Rights — available to some vulnerable countries. The French presidency then said France would share 40% of its own assets from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The summit’s first day included announcements of a pair of deals. French officials said debt-burdened Zambia had reached a deal with several creditors including China to restructure £4.9 billion in loans, and Senegal reached a deal with the EU and western allies to support its efforts to improve its access to energy and increase its share of renewable energy to 40% by 2030.
