Charities call for carbon tax on global shipping

In future a ship could look like this?

$25bn a year levy would go to green climate fund

Oxfam and the World Wide Fund for Nature are calling for a carbon tax on international shipping, which they claim accounts for 3% of global emissions.

The charities have published a joint report that says a “carbon price” of $25 per tonne would increase bunker costs by around 10% and cost the shipping industry approximately $25bn a year, equivalent to around 0.2% of the total value of global trade.

Their report adds: “This is likely to have a marginal impact on global patterns of trade, not least when seen in the context of much larger changes in bunker fuel prices and freight rates over the past two decades.”

The charities implied that shipping would be a relatively easy source of revenue for the UN GCF, compared with direct budget contributions from governments, which are subject to budget constraints and democratic approval.

“The most promising option in the near term is to raise finance from international shipping,” they said.
They said the proposal should be on the agenda at the 17th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP17, in Durban in November and December. Governments made $100bn worth of commitments to the GCF at COP16 in Cancun last December, without specifying where they would source the funds.

Their report does refer to the International Maritime Organisation’s adoption of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) in July, saying it had been “a useful first step,” in the process of reducing emissions.  However, it said EEDI would only reduce maritime emissions by less than 1% by 2020 and that pricing emissions, “or their proxy, fuel, is the next step needed”.

In contrast, it says, a carbon tax would “drive significant maritime emissions cuts,” and cited a July report from the International Council on Clean Transportation suggesting these could be up to 33% by 2020, through negative- or low-cost technical measures.

“Setting a carbon price for ships – even one starting at a moderate level – sends the clearest signal to shipowners and operators that they must internalise their carbon costs in both the designs and operations of their ships,” the report says.

It claims a carbon tax on shipping has support from the governments of France, Germany and Mexico and that “many players in the shipping industry are calling for a carbon price to be set”.
It also calls on the IMO, at its assembly in November,  to pass a resolution confirming the need for a carbon price for shipping emissions.

A report in Lloyd’s List,  said the proceeds of the tax would be divided between the UN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) and developing countries, to compensate them for the increased costs of imports, based on their share of global imports by sea.

Source: http://www.ifw-net.com

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2011 Special Offers HERE