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| ===== Major nations agree on first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases with plan that targets shipping ===== | ===== Austria welcomes JJ back home with cheers, hugs and roses after he wins the Eurovision Song Contest ===== |
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| By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and SIBI ARASU Associated Press | By PHILIPP JENNE and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press |
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| Many of the world's largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum fee of $100 for every ton of greenhouse gases emitted by ships above certain thresholds, in what is effectively the first global tax on greenhouse gas emissions. | VIENNA (AP) — Austrian fans enthusiastically welcomed classically trained singer JJ back home at Vienna airport on Sunday after he won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest with "Wasted Love." |
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| The International Maritime Organization estimates $11 billion to $13 billion in revenue annually from the fees, with the money to be put into its net zero fund to invest in fuels and technologies needed to transition to green shipping, reward low-emission ships and support developing countries so they aren't left behind with dirty fuels and old ships. The thresholds set through the agreement will get stricter over time to try to reach the IMO's goal of net zero across the industry by about 2050. | As JJ walked through the gate, hundreds of fans cheered, some played his song and others surrounded the new star, hugging him and asking for autographs. |
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| The agreement, reached with the United States notably absent, is expected to be formally adopted at an October meeting to take effect in 2027. The IMO, which regulates international shipping, also set a marine fuel standard to phase in cleaner fuels. | The 24-year-old countertenor, whose winning song combines operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno twist, and who also sings at the Vienna State Opera, held up his trophy in one hand and a big bouquet of roses in the other. He smiled, wiped away tears and told the crowd "that victory is for you." |
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| Shipping emissions have grown over the last decade to about 3% of the global total as vessels have gotten bigger, delivering more cargo per trip and using immense amounts of fuel. | JJ, whose full name is Johannes Pietsch, was Austria's third Eurovision winner, after bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst in 2014 and Udo Jürgens in 1966. |
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| IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the group forged a meaningful consensus in the face of complex challenges to combat climate change and modernize shipping. The shipping industry is on track to meet the net zero goal, he added. | "This is beyond my wildest dreams. It's crazy," said the singer when being handed the microphone-shaped glass Eurovision trophy after his win in the Swiss city of Basel on Saturday night. |
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| Some environmentalists at the meeting called the agreement a "historic decision" that doesn't go far enough. The fee doesn't drive enough emission reductions and it won't raise enough revenue to help developing countries transition to greener shipping, said Emma Fenton, senior director for climate diplomacy at a U.K.-based climate change nonprofit, Opportunity Green. | On Sunday night, JJ told reporters in Vienna that "I don't think you'll realize that you did it at all until you're on your deathbed." |
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| Fenton said the measure actually opens the door for a scenario where ships can pay to pollute instead of decarbonize, because it could be cheaper to simply absorb the fee than to make changes to reduce emissions, like switching fuels. | **'All of Austria is happy'** |
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| "The IMO has made an historic decision, yet ultimately one that fails climate-vulnerable countries and falls short of both the ambition the climate crisis demands and that member states committed to just two years ago," they said. | Austria's president, Alexander van der Bellen, celebrated JJ in a video posted on X. |
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| Other groups welcomed the agreement as a step in the right direction. | "What a success! What a voice! What a show!" he exclaimed. "All of Austria is happy." |
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| "By approving a global fuel standard and greenhouse gas pricing mechanism, the International Maritime Organization took a crucial step to reduce climate impacts from shipping. Member states must now deliver on strengthening the fuel standard over time to more effectively incentivize the sector's adoption of zero and near-zero fuels, and to ensure a just and equitable energy transition," said Natacha Stamatiou of the Environmental Defense Fund. | Chancellor Christian Stoecker wrote on X: "What a great success — my warmest congratulations on winning #ESC2025! JJ is writing Austrian music history today!" |
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| The previous day, delegates approved a proposal to designate an emissions control area in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. Ships traveling through the area will have to abide by more stringent controls on fuels and their engines to reduce pollution. It will cover ships coming into and leave ports in the North Atlantic, such as the United Kingdom, Greenland, France and the Faroe Islands. It will oblige ships from North America, Asia and many other destinations to reduce emissions, said Sian Prior, lead adviser to the Clean Arctic Alliance. | The Vienna State Opera also expressed joy over the win. "From the Magic Flute to winning the Song Contest is somehow a story that can only take place in Austria," opera director Bogdan Roscic told the Austrian press agency APA. |
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| One major issue during the meetings was the way the fee would be charged. More than 60 countries entered the negotiations pushing for a simple tax charged per metric ton of emissions. They were led by Pacific island nations, whose very existence is threatened by climate change. | Several Austrian cities were quick to show their interest in hosting next year's contest. Innsbruck Mayor Johannes Anzengruber told APA that "not everything has to take place in Vienna. ... Austria is bigger than that," and the towns of Oberwart in Burgenland and Wels in Upper Austria also threw their hats into the ring. |
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| Other countries with sizable maritime fleets — notably China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa — wanted a credit trading model instead of a fixed levy. Finally, a compromise between the two models was reached. The compromise is in the ambition of the measure, since the fee is not a universal levy on all emissions. | JJ himself said he hoped that Vienna would get the next ESC which he would love to host together with his mentor, Conchita Wurst. |
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| The IMO aims for consensus in decision-making, but in this case had to vote. Sixty-three nations, including China, Brazil, South Africa and many European states, approved the agreement. Led by Saudi Arabia, 16 opposed. And 24 nations, including a group from the Pacific Islands, abstained. Ministers from the island nations said they refused to support an agreement that would "do too little, too late to cut shipping emissions and protect their islands," and will try to strengthen it at the October meeting. | **A nail-biting final** |
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| Brazil's negotiator, who wasn't identified by name in a livestream of the closing, said the agreement isn't intended to be perfect because each nation would have a different answer on what would be perfect. But he said nations listened to each other and came up with a framework to address climate change in an extremely challenging geopolitical environment. | Israeli singer Yuval Raphael came second at an exuberant celebration of music and unity - JJ won after a nail-biting final that saw Raphael scoop up a massive public vote from her many fans for her anthemic "New Day Will Rise." |
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| The United States didn't participate in the negotiations in London and urged other governments to oppose the emission measures being considered. The Trump administration said it would reject any efforts to impose economic measures against its ships based on emissions or fuel choice, which it said would burden the sector and drive inflation. It threatened possible reciprocal measures if any fees are charged. | At a post-victory press conference, JJ said the message of his song about unrequited romance was that "love is the strongest force on planet Earth, and love persevered. |
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| When asked about the United States' position in a press conference, Secretary-General Dominguez said large ships traveling between different countries are obliged to comply with the IMO's regulations. He said nations with concerns should engage with the IMO, to move forward together. | "Let's spread love, guys," said JJ, who added that he was honored to be the first Eurovision champion with Filipino heritage, as well as a proudly queer winner. |
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| The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. | **Eclectic and sometimes baffling** |
| ===== Major nations agree on first-ever global fee on greenhouse gases with plan that targets shipping ===== | |
| | The world's largest live music event, which has been uniting and dividing Europeans since 1956, reached its glitter-drenched conclusion with a grand final in Basel that offered pounding electropop, quirky rock and outrageous divas. |
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| | Acts from 26 countries — trimmed from 37 entrants through two elimination semifinals — performed to some 160 million viewers for the continent's pop crown. No smoke machine, jet of flame or dizzying light display was spared by musicians who had three minutes to win over millions of viewers who, along with national juries of music professionals, picked the winner. |
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| | Estonia's Tommy Cash came third with his jokey mock-Italian dance song "Espresso Macchiato." Swedish entry KAJ, which had been favorite to win with jaunty sauna ode "Bara Bada Bastu," came fourth. |
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| | The show was a celebration of Europe's eclectic, and sometimes baffling, musical tastes. |
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| | Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in Basel, Switzerland contributed to this report. |
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| | ===== The UK and the EU hail a new chapter as they sign fresh deals 5 years after Brexit ===== |
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| | By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press |
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| | LONDON (AP) — Britain and the European Union hailed a new chapter in their relationship Monday after sealing fresh agreements on defense cooperation and easing trade flows at their first formal summit since Brexit. |
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| | Five years after the U.K. left the EU, ties were growing closer again as Prime Minister Keir Starmer met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior EU officials in London for talks. |
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| | The deals will slash red tape, grow the British economy and reset relations with the 27-nation trade bloc, Starmer said, while von der Leyen called the talks a "historic moment" that benefits both sides. |
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| | "Britain is back on the world stage," Starmer told reporters. "This deal is a win-win." |
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| | He hailed Monday's agreements — the third package of trade deals struck by his government in as many weeks following accords with the U.S. and India — as "good for jobs, good for bills and good for our borders." |
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| | But Britain's opposition parties slammed the deals as backtracking on Brexit and "surrendering" anew to the EU. "We're becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again," Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said. |
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| | Here are the main takeaways from the summit: |
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| | **Cutting red tape on food trade** |
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| | Officials said they will remove some routine border checks on animal and plant products and align with EU regulations, which will reduce costs on food imports and exports and make it easier for goods to flow freely across borders. |
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| | Businesses have complained about trucks waiting for hours at borders with fresh food that cannot be exported to the EU because of laborious post-Brexit certifications. |
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| | The changes will mean the U.K. can sell products like raw British burgers, sausages and seafood to the EU again, officials said. The benefits will apply also to movements between the British mainland and Northern Ireland, where post-Brexit customs checks have been a thorny issue for years. |
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| | While the EU is the U.K.'s largest trading partner, the government said the U.K. has been hit with a 21% drop in exports since Brexit because of more onerous paperwork and other non-tariff barriers. |
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| By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and SIBI ARASU Associated Press | **Defense procurement pact** |
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| Many of the world's largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum fee of $100 for every ton of greenhouse gases emitted by ships above certain thresholds, in what is effectively the first global tax on greenhouse gas emissions. | A new security and defense partnership will pave the way for the U.K. defense industry to access a new EU loan program worth 150 billion euros ($170 billion.) That will allow Britain to secure cheap loans backed by the EU budget to buy military equipment, in part to help Ukraine defend itself. |
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| The International Maritime Organization estimates $11 billion to $13 billion in revenue annually from the fees, with the money to be put into its net zero fund to invest in fuels and technologies needed to transition to green shipping, reward low-emission ships and support developing countries so they aren't left behind with dirty fuels and old ships. The thresholds set through the agreement will get stricter over time to try to reach the IMO's goal of net zero across the industry by about 2050. | The EU has said that the loan program will help boost the readiness of European defense as well as enable more coordinated support for Ukraine. |
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| The agreement, reached with the United States notably absent, is expected to be formally adopted at an October meeting to take effect in 2027. The IMO, which regulates international shipping, also set a marine fuel standard to phase in cleaner fuels. | **Fishing rights** |
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| Shipping emissions have grown over the last decade to about 3% of the global total as vessels have gotten bigger, delivering more cargo per trip and using immense amounts of fuel. | The deal included a 12-year extension of an agreement allowing EU fishing vessels to operate in U.K. waters until 2038, which angered U.K. fishermen and their supporters. |
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| IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the group forged a meaningful consensus in the face of complex challenges to combat climate change and modernize shipping. The shipping industry is on track to meet the net zero goal, he added. | While economically minor, fishing has long been a sticking point and symbolically important issue for the U.K. and EU member states such as France. Disputes over the issue nearly derailed a Brexit deal back in 2020. |
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| Some environmentalists at the meeting called the agreement a "historic decision" that doesn't go far enough. The fee doesn't drive enough emission reductions and it won't raise enough revenue to help developing countries transition to greener shipping, said Emma Fenton, senior director for climate diplomacy at a U.K.-based climate change nonprofit, Opportunity Green. | Elspeth Macdonald, head of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, called the agreement a "horror show for Scottish fishermen" that was granted in order to secure other objectives. Scottish First Minister John Swinney said the deal was "the direct opposite of what was promised by Brexit." |
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| Fenton said the measure actually opens the door for a scenario where ships can pay to pollute instead of decarbonize, because it could be cheaper to simply absorb the fee than to make changes to reduce emissions, like switching fuels. | **Easing movement for young people** |
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| "The IMO has made an historic decision, yet ultimately one that fails climate-vulnerable countries and falls short of both the ambition the climate crisis demands and that member states committed to just two years ago," they said. | Post-Brexit visa restrictions have hobbled cross-border activities for professionals such as bankers or lawyers, as well as academic and cultural exchanges, including touring bands. |
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| Other groups welcomed the agreement as a step in the right direction. | The U.K. and EU said they agreed to co-operate on a youth mobility plan that's expected to allow young Britons and Europeans to live and work temporarily in each other's territory, though no details were provided. |
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| "By approving a global fuel standard and greenhouse gas pricing mechanism, the International Maritime Organization took a crucial step to reduce climate impacts from shipping. Member states must now deliver on strengthening the fuel standard over time to more effectively incentivize the sector's adoption of zero and near-zero fuels, and to ensure a just and equitable energy transition," said Natacha Stamatiou of the Environmental Defense Fund. | British officials insisted that numbers would be capped and stays would be time-limited. |
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| The previous day, delegates approved a proposal to designate an emissions control area in the North-East Atlantic Ocean. Ships traveling through the area will have to abide by more stringent controls on fuels and their engines to reduce pollution. It will cover ships coming into and leave ports in the North Atlantic, such as the United Kingdom, Greenland, France and the Faroe Islands. It will oblige ships from North America, Asia and many other destinations to reduce emissions, said Sian Prior, lead adviser to the Clean Arctic Alliance. | The free movement of people remains a politically touchy issue in the U.K., with the youth mobility plan seen by some Brexiteers as inching back toward completely free movement for EU nationals to move to the U.K. The U.K. has similar youth mobility arrangements with countries including Australia and Canada. |
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| The Marine Environment Protection Committee, which is part of the IMO, has been in meetings all week in London and finalized its decision Friday. | **Cutting airport waits** |
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| One major issue during the meetings was the way the fee would be charged. More than 60 countries entered the negotiations pushing for a simple tax charged per metric ton of emissions. They were led by Pacific island nations, whose very existence is threatened by climate change. | British passport holders will be able to use e-gates at more European airports as part of the deal. |
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| Other countries with sizable maritime fleets — notably China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa — wanted a credit trading model instead of a fixed levy. Finally, a compromise between the two models was reached. The compromise is in the ambition of the measure, since the fee is not a universal levy on all emissions. | Since Brexit, many British travelers cannot use automated gates when they arrive at EU airports. The new measure will end "the dreaded queues at border control," officials said. |
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| The IMO aims for consensus in decision-making, but in this case had to vote. Sixty-three nations, including China, Brazil, South Africa and many European states, approved the agreement. Led by Saudi Arabia, 16 opposed. And 24 nations, including a group from the Pacific Islands, abstained. Ministers from the island nations said they refused to support an agreement that would "do too little, too late to cut shipping emissions and protect their islands," and will try to strengthen it at the October meeting. | **Opposition objects to a 'surrender'** |
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| "We came as climate vulnerable countries— with the greatest need and the clearest solution. And what did we face? Weak alternatives from the world's biggest economies," Simon Kofe, Tuvalu's minister for transport, energy, communication and innovation, said in a statement. | Britain's opposition parties have criticized Starmer's bid to reset relations with the EU. The pro-Brexit and anti-immigration Reform U.K. party, which recently won big in local elections, and the Conservatives have called the trade-offs in the deals a betrayal of Brexit. |
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| Brazil's negotiator, who wasn't identified by name in a livestream of the closing, said the agreement isn't intended to be perfect because each nation would have a different answer on what would be perfect. But he said nations listened to each other and came up with a framework to address climate change in an extremely challenging geopolitical environment. | Starmer is "taking us backwards. We left the European Union. That was settled, we drew a line under that," said Badenoch, the Conservative leader. "This deal is taking us to the past and that is why we call it surrender." |
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| The United States didn't participate in the negotiations in London and urged other governments to oppose the emission measures being considered. The Trump administration said it would reject any efforts to impose economic measures against its ships based on emissions or fuel choice, which it said would burden the sector and drive inflation. It threatened possible reciprocal measures if any fees are charged. | Starmer stressed that he did not violate his "red lines": The U.K. won't rejoin the EU's frictionless single market and customs union, and will not agree to the free movement of people between the U.K. and the EU. |
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| When asked about the United States' position in a press conference, Secretary-General Dominguez said large ships traveling between different countries are obliged to comply with the IMO's regulations. He said nations with concerns should engage with the IMO, to move forward together. | David Henig, a U.K. trade policy expert at the European Centre for International Political Economy, suggested that while some will continue to argue against agreeing to EU regulations, most Britons likely believe it's time to move forward. |
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| Dominguez also addressed concerns that the targeted reductions in carbon intensity for fuels aren't strict enough to reduce the use of liquefied natural gas as a marine fuel, which emits greenhouse gases when burned. He said it's a "transition fuel," or a bridge to cleaner fuels, and the IMO will continue to look at its environmental impacts in addressing its use. | "Simply following EU rules in some areas is going to be controversial to those who thought that Brexit means casting off all influence from the EU entirely," he said. "That wasn't realistic for a trading nation like the UK., where 50% of our trade is with the EU." |
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| The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. | Pan Pylas and Jill Lawless in London and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed reporting. |
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