How Shipping Is on the Cusp of a Global Carbon Charge: QuickTake

Shipping’s global regulator will decide in October whether to ratify sweeping new rules that would force the oil-guzzling industry to start paying for its greenhouse gas emissions.

A draft of the regulations received widespread support in the spring at talks held by the United Nations shipping watchdog, the International Maritime Organization. But final adoption is far from guaranteed amid US opposition.

The Trump administration has criticized the proposed emission fees, labeling them a “global carbon tax on Americans levied by an unaccountable UN organization.” It’s threatened tariffs and other penalties should the new mechanism be adopted.

If the IMO’s ...