The International Maritime Organization imposes the world’s first global carbon tax on emissions from cargo ships.

Member states of the International Maritime Organization have voted in favour of a global pricing system to help curb maritime carbon emissions, the UN shipping body announced Friday. A majority of members -- 63 states -- voted for the carbon pricing system, including the European Union, Brazil, China, India and Japan.

Member states of the International Maritime Organization have voted in favour of a global pricing system to help curb maritime carbon emissions, the UN shipping body announced Friday. A majority of members -- 63 states -- voted for the carbon pricing system, including the European Union, Brazil, China, India and Japan.

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. The revenue, estimated at around $10 billion annually, will…