Liberia: GOL Says No Carbon Levy On International Ships

The Government of Liberia notes recent online publications in Trade Winds and Oracle News Daily, suggesting that Liberia plans to impose a carbon levy on international shipping as of March 1, 2026.

Accordingly, the Government of Liberia wishes to clarify that it does not, and will not, impose a carbon levy on international ships calling at Liberian seaports.

Liberia reaffirms its support to the established international legal frameworks governing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships through the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Government of Liberia recognizes that international shipping operates globally, beyond national boundaries, hence its complex nature. Consequently, regulating international shipping greenhouse gas emissions has, by longstanding international consensus, been entrusted exclusively to the IMO.

Therefore, unilateral national measures to regulate or impose market-based mechanisms on international shipping emissions outside the IMO framework risk undermining regulatory certainty, fragmenting global maritime governance, and disrupting international trade.

Furthermore, the Government of Liberia will continue to engage with the IMO and other countries to support the development of globally agreed technical, operational, and market-based measures that are uniform, just, and equitable, taking into consideration developmental realities.

Liberia has established a national Carbon Market Authority to coordinate participation in carbon markets and climate finance mechanisms under the United Nations Convention Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement for nationally determined contributions.

However, international shipping emissions are not included in national emissions inventories and are not subject to national carbon trading systems or levies. Regulation of emissions from ships, including any future carbon pricing or contribution mechanisms, remains under the mandate of the Liberia Maritime Authority through relevant IMO instrument(s).

Read the original article on Liberian Observer.