Concerns have emerged that the European Union may end up with a watered-down position at the International Maritime Organization negotiations this summer to set more ambitious climate targets as European Union member states started to discuss proposals this week.

France is backing away from setting an interim target for 2030, which environmentalists argue is essential to get emission reductions underway and make it possible to hit a zero or net zero ambition for 2050, according to a story in French online publication Mediapart.