Shipping needs nuclear power to solve its emissions problem

One of the last bastions of industry where carbon emissions go largely unregulated may be about to fall.

Shipping — which consumes about 5% of the world’s oil and emits about 3% of its greenhouse gases — is edging toward a net-zero target to match those now common in swaths of the power and road transport sectors.

The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations body that oversees the industry, is preparing to strengthen measures intended to reduce its carbon footprint over the coming decades. Rich countries are supporting a carbon tax on shipping backed by the Marshall Islands, operator of one of the largest ship registries and one of the world’s most low-lying island states.