Shipping faces threat from EU of unilateral levy on carbon emissions

The shipping industry faces the threat of paying a levy to the European Union on its greenhouse gas emissions as lawmakers from the bloc grow increasingly impatient with the slow progress being made by the global effort to tackle the issue. The industry, which accounts for around 90 percent of goods transported globally, has rejected unilateral moves by the EU, arguing it would distort world trade and instead wants the issue handled through the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nation’s shipping agency.