Belém (Brazil) (AFP) – Threats, intimidation, harassment — the tactics deployed by US negotiators to stall a global deal on shipping pollution last month sent chills through climate diplomats ahead of the COP30 summit. Brazil was confident global unity would prevail at November’s climate talks, but the exceptionally undiplomatic scenes at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN shipping regulator, presented an uglier possibility.
Even with the United States skipping the climate summit, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for good faith negotiations at COP30 and a rejection of the “pressure and threats” witnessed at the IMO. Washington’s conduct — threatening sanctions, visa freezes, and port levies on nations that didn’t vote its way — was not “typical” of the IMO, Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told AFP. AFP interviewed Dominguez, a Panamanian nearly halfway through his four-year term as IMO chief, at COP30 in Belem. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: The shipping carbon price was expected to be approved until US officials threatened retaliation against nations to get the vote delayed. Is this normal conduct at the IMO?
A: “In my 28 years I have never experienced that kind of meeting at the IMO. It was not a typical IMO meeting. Geopolitical situations around the world right now are different to where they were in the past. We all know that. But for me, the task is to keep the momentum, maintain the approach, and whenever we come back to the negotiations in future, I call on everyone to do it in the normal spirit of compromise and cooperation that we carry out at IMO.”
Q: How can the IMO’s 176 member states rebuild trust after this?
A: “I can tell you that multilateralism is very much alive at IMO. And that’s what I told everyone — not to judge the organization, or come too quickly to conclusions, from the outcome of one specific topic in one specific meeting. For us, we need to learn from it. I am very much in support of multilateralism. We have had conversations and discussions about how to deal with geopolitical aspects.”
Q: US President Donald Trump called the shipping emissions deal a “scam” and pressure from Washington clearly influenced its delay. Is the scheme dead?
A: “The negotiations continue, and they are ongoing. It is by no means a done deal. The process will continue ahead. It is important to take their comments and concerns on board, and have further bilateral and multilateral conversations ahead of the next session. They may have proposals to put on the table for us to consider as well. And that’s how we make progress. I work with all countries, and all governments, at any given time. My job is to listen to what everybody is saying and see how we can accommodate and find those common areas that might allow us to make progress.”
Q: Is the industry still committed to decarbonizing?
A: “Our goal — that we all agree at IMO back in 2023 — is to decarbonize the sector by around 2050. And we all maintain that goal, regardless of the state of play right now. We continue to make progress… and I am convinced actually that the organization is serious about decarbonizing by around 2050.”
© 2024 AFP
