ICS plans carbon levy for shipping decarbonisation

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has outlined a plan for a global carbon levy to accelerate decarbonisation in the shipping industry.

The ICS has submitted the plan to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) calling for a levy on each tonne of CO2 emitted by ships exceeding 5,000 gross tonnage that trade globally. It has not specified a price for the levy. It proposes that the money generated would be put towards narrowing the price gap between zero-carbon and conventional fuels and improving global bunkering infrastructure to accommodate fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia.

Shipping accounts for roughly 2pc of global carbon emissions and the industry "is desperate to see zero-carbon ships brought to the water by shipyards by 2030", the ICS said. Its proposed levy should accelerate the transition to a market where zero-emission shipping is viable.

"The World Bank and numerous studies have concluded that the most appropriate global MBM [market-based measure] for reducing carbon emissions from shipping is a levy-based system," ICS secretary general Guy Platten said.

The European Commission said in June that it will phase in emissions trading for the maritime sector from 2023, with 100pc auctioning of verified emissions as of 2026. But the ICS said its proposed levy, which would be mandatory and global, "is strongly preferable over any unilateral, regional application of MBMs to international shipping." This includes the extension of the EU ETS to international shipping, it said, adding that only 7.5pc of global shipping emissions would come under the EU ETS scheme, and this "piecemeal approach to MBMs" will not succeed in reducing shipping's global emissions.

Earlier this year the shipping industry urged governments to act on talk of a decarbonisation fund, after the IMO adopted mandatory measures to reduce ships' carbon intensity.

By Saleem Rizvi