Climate vulnerable nations back shipping emissions levy

A coalition of countries that are highly vulnerable to the effects of global warming has called on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to establish a compulsory greenhouse gas levy on international shipping.

The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) — an international partnership of over 50 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and elsewhere — is also advocating for "ambitious targets in domestic maritime emissions" and for next-generation vessels and marine fuels "to be equitable" for all states.

It said it wants the majority of the money generated from the levy to be reinvested in supporting urgent climate action, in particular in developing, vulnerable countries. The demands are part of the CVF Dhaka-Glasgow Declaration launched at the UN Cop 26 climate conference.

The idea of a carbon levy on shipping has already received significant support from industry bodies. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has suggested a global carbon levy to accelerate decarbonisation in shipping, as well as tougher emissions reduction targets for the industry. In a report published today in conjunction with consultancy Ricardo, the ICS also called for a "massive scaling up of finance for research and development", which is crucial for decarbonising the sector.

The European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) is advocating for a dedicated fund under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to stabilise the carbon price, where revenues would be used to develop research and development projects and to lower the price of cleaner fuels, making them more competitive with conventional bunkers. The ECSA has stated a preference for international regulation at IMO level, but thinks action should also be taken at EU level, president Claes Berglund said.

The ECSA said it believes that the charterer, "the entity responsible for taking operational decisions", should bear the burden of the costs of the EU ETS. The World Shipping Council has said that including shipping in the EU ETS will help decarbonise the industry "but EU action threatens to undermine broader international progress if the ETS extends outside of the EU".

Earlier this week, Denmark and the US urged the IMO to set more ambitious targets to achieve zero emissions in shipping by 2050. The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has said that the maritime industry will not be able to reach net zero emissions by 2050 without a fuel levy to encourage the use of alternative bunkers.

By Saleem Rizvi