Tuvalu Fights On For Global Shipping Levy

Tuvalu fought alongside an alliance of Pacific, Caribbean, African, and Latin American countries to keep alive a greenhouse gas levy on shipping emissions at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London this week.

Attending the Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions 19, Tuvalu’s Technical Advisor, Taasi Pitoi, emphasized that the global levy is essential to help countries like Tuvalu transition to clean energy and protect communities already facing the harshest impacts of climate change.

“We’ve been instructed to stick to the 1.5 Paris agreement and the levy. In the end, we contribute the least to pollution, but we pay the highest price,” Pitoi said. “Big countries can transition. Our situation is different. Tuvalu came here because the IMO is the only United Nations organisation that can enforce its regulations.”

Despite many countries backing a GHG levy, the chair of the Working Group sidelined that momentum and a bridging proposal presented by the alliance. Undeterred, the group then launched a coordinated push to keep a universal GHG levy alive - now reframed as the Zero and Near-Zero (ZNZ) contribution.

Republic of Marshall Islands Ambassador Albon Ishoda said equity and balance continued to be an issue at the talks. “The universal GHG levy remains on the table, and that’s essential… But on equity, our voices are still being ignored.The current proposal being developed raises serious concerns — it risks failing the most vulnerable and leaving people behind.

Pitoi, who is Tuvalu’s former Director of Marine and Port Services, has been attending IMO negotiations for 10 years and is familiar with how tense and controversial they are.

“On Monday, I told my family we have to pray for a good result.

“We are not here because of the revenue, but the survival of our people at home is more important due to climate change.”

Also attending the talks was the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a global environmental non-profit organisation. Their IMO GHG Lead, Natacha Stamatiou, said the Pacific islands had shown strength and unity. “They have been inspiring in how they stood their ground, and we really appreciate that because as an observer organization, our contribution is limited.

"A universal price on carbon, along with a strict global fuel standard, remains on the table —and for climate vulnerable regions, the stakes could not be higher. Pacific nations bear the greatest burden of the climate crisis while contributing the least to global pollution. Unless they gain fair access to cleaner fuels and technologies, they risk being left behind, Stamatiou added.

“We must advocate for a just and equitable future for every nation, every community and every person.”

The next round of negotiations starts next week with Tuvalu Minister for Transport, Energy, Communication, and Innovation, Simon Kofe due to arrive in London for the Marine Environment Protection Committee 83 meeting. There they will decide whether to advance the Zero and Near-Zero (ZNZ) contribution as part of the IMO’s package of midterm measures.

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