ICS proposes decarbonisation by tax
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has presented to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) a new proposal for a market measure (market based measure, MBM) in the form of a global fuel tax. Its aim is to “accelerate the deployment of fuels with zero carbon emissions.”
This rate would consist of a mandatory contribution from merchant ships of more than 5,000 GT operating worldwide for each tonne of CO2 emitted. The money raised would go to an IMO climate change fund that would be used to reduce the current price differential between conventional and alternative fuels.
Likewise, it would serve to develop the necessary supply infrastructure in ports around the world for new fuels such as hydrogen or ammonia, "ensuring coherence in the green transition of the maritime sector for developed and developing economies", the ICS declared.
The shipping industry is determined that zero-carbon ships can operate and become commercially viable by 2030. The international association of dry cargo ship owners, Intercargo, also supports the introduction of a ‘carbon levy’.
According to Guy Platten, general secretary of the ICS, "the World Bank and numerous studies have concluded that it is the most appropriate MBM for reducing carbon emissions from shipping." (cd)