One of the last bastions of industry where carbon emissions go largely unregulated may be about to fall. Shipping – which consumes about 5 per cent of the world’s oil and emits about 3 per cent of its greenhouse gases – is edging towards a net-zero target to match those now common in swaths of the power and road transport sectors.

The International Maritime Organisation, the United Nations body that oversees the industry, is meeting in London this week 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.