ICS Backs Bunker Carbon Taxes for Shipping

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday September 6, 2021

Industry body the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has submitted an IMO proposal for global bunker carbon taxation.

On Friday the organisation submitted a proposal calling for a levy for ships over 5,000 GT, per tonne of carbon dioxide they emit, it said in a statement on its website on Monday. The money raised would go towards a fund that could be used both to subsidise low-carbon fuels and to fund bunker infrastructure development.

The proposal is in addition to shipping industry bodies' previous calls for a $2/mt levy to be placed on bunker sales to fund research and development work into alternative fuels technology.

"What shipping needs is a truly global market-based measure like this that will reduce the price gap between zero-carbon fuels and conventional fuels," Guy Platten, secretary general of ICS, said in the statement.

"The rapid development of such a mechanism is now a vital necessity if governments are to match actions with rhetoric and demonstrate continued leadership for the decarbonisation of shipping.

"There's no question that improvements in technology can enable the transition to zero-emission shipping.

"However, huge leaps must still be taken if we're to achieve the readiness levels needed for deployment at scale.

"This includes building the necessary infrastructure to support such a transition."

The next meeting of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee is in November.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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