EMEA News
EU ETS Imposition on Shipping Could Cause Global Retaliation: BIMCO
The European Union imposing its emissions trading system (EU-ETS) on shipping could risk global retaliation against Europe, according to industry body BIMCO.
Imposing the EU-ETS would risk the development of multiple similar systems developing, making imposing such a system globally "much more difficult to achieve," David Loosley, secretary general of BIMCO, said in a statement on the organisation's website Thursday.
The organisation cited 'stiff opposition' from China, India and the US to EU attempts to impose its ETS on aviation in 2012.
"Given the international political climate in 2020, I see it as much more likely today that the EU ETS will be met with retaliation from its international trading partners over such a move," Loosley said.
"When you build a ship, you don’t know how often it will call at EU ports during its 25-year lifetime.
"That makes it impossible to calculate when an investment in carbon-reducing technology will have paid off.
"The consequence is that a regional ETS will not change how ships are built – it will just be a tax that ultimately ends up with the consumers."
BIMCO supports imposing a $2/mt levy on bunker sales at the global level to build up a research and development fund for zero-carbon energy technologies for shipping.
In a recent report proposing global carbon pricing for marine fuels, commodity trader Trafigura said the $2/mt levy proposal "would neither significantly affect fuel costs nor likely have a material impact on the development of alternative fuels."
Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO, will be speaking at the IBIA Annual Convention 2020 in November.
The global convention, being held online this year for the first time, will cover three days from November 3.
To register for the convention, click here: https://www.eventora.com/en/Events/ibia-annual-convention-2020-going-global.
