Shipping emissions could be halved without damaging trade, research finds
theguardian.comGreenhouse gas emissions from shipping could be halved by 2030 without damaging trade, new research has found, as countries prepare to meet to discuss a potential new tax on carbon produced by ships.
Emissions from maritime transportation amount to about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and there are few alternatives to the cheap, heavy and dirty diesel oil used by ships.
But the sector has been slow to take up emissions-cutting technologies, and an increasing number of countries want to see a tax on shipping to encourage shipowners to invest in emissions reduction and fund the rescue of countries stricken by climate disaster.
The International Maritime Organization, the UN division that governs global shipping, will meet in London today for a fortnight of talks on decarbonising and the potential for a new levy of up to $100 (£78) a tonne of carbon produced by ships.
A shipping levy was discussed by nearly 40 world leaders and the heads of global financial institutions last week in Paris. The summit for a new global financing pact, hosted by French president Emmanuel Macron, heard arguments from developed and developing countries in favour of a tax, the revenues of which would flow to the “loss and damage” fund, to help countries suffering the ravages of extreme weather.
World Bank estimates show that a carbon tax on shipping could raise as much as $50bn to $60bn a year.
Japan, the world’s second largest ship-owning nation, has called for a carbon tax of $56 a tonne of carbon from 2025.
But the US is in a difficult position, as president Joe Biden could face stiff resistance to any plans from a Republican-controlled Congress. Janet Yellen, the treasury secretary, signalled a cautious welcome to the proposal at the Paris
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