A CO2-based charge, backed by multiple countries and a major trade organization, is not billed as a tax and isn’t intended to change shippers’ behavior.
Shipping’s global regulator signalled that a tiny CO2-based charge on vessels’ fuel consumption will not be approved at a meeting this week, underscoring the challenge facing the industry in its bid to decarbonise.
While the proposed price is low, the levy is significant because it would be the first ever mandatory, global “fee-based” carbon price, according to the World Bank. The plan was discussed at international talks on Wednesday and, with many countries raising concerns, provisionally deferred to a future meeting.
The plan, backed by multiple countries and a major trade organization, is not billed as a tax and isn’t intended to change shippers’ behavior. Instead, the idea is to raise about $5bn (€4.3bn) for research and development into clean fuels and propulsion systems for international shipping, which is almost exclusively powered by oil and spews more CO2 into the atmosphere than Germany and the Netherlands combined.
More from the Irish Examiner whose coverage originally is accredited to Bloomberg.
