Nations set to agree on shipping emissions cuts but fall short of aligning with climate goals

abcnews.go.com:

Maritime nations have been finalizing a plan Thursday to slash emissions from the shipping industry to net zero by close to 2050 but experts warn the deal falls well short of what’s needed to prevent climate catastrophe

Maritime nations have been finalizing a plan Thursday to slash emissions from the shipping industry to net zero by about 2050 but experts warn the deal falls well short of what's needed to prevent climate catastrophe.

Negotiators at the meeting of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization in London, seen as key to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times, are set to officially agree Friday for shipping emissions to reach net zero “by or around” 2050, rather than setting the date as a hard deadline.

The draft plan also calls for shipping emissions to be slashed by at least 20% but aiming for 30% by 2030 and at least 70% but working toward 80% by 2040 despite a push from Pacific nations for more ambitious targets. Experts calculate the industry must cut its emissions by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to keep on track with 1.5 C temperature goal.

Environmentalists say the draft plan would see the shipping industry use up its carbon budget — a calculation of the amount of carbon dioxide various industries and countries can emit before global warming limits are breached — by 2031.

“This week’s climate talks were reminiscent of rearranging the deckchairs on a sinking ship,” said Faig Abbasov from Transport and Environment, a Brussels-based environmental nongovernmental organization, who's part of the meetings in London.

“The U.N. had the opportunity to set an unambiguous and clear course towards the 1.5 C temperature goal, but all it