An attempt by the French president to win support for a global carbon tax on the shipping industry has failed.

Addressing a summit for a New Global Financing Pact, Emmanuel Macron said the shipping industry was responsible for more than two percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and should contribute to efforts to cut them, including through taxes.

He acknowledged that such a tax would only work if China, the United States and other European nations with stakes in the shipping industry joined forces.