THE UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has approved of levy on every ton of shipping emissions from oceangoing cargo vessels, reports LA-based CleanTechnica.
It would be a first step toward imposing a tax on emissions that is not limited to a particular country.
'I'm very confident that there is going to be an economic pricing mechanism by this time next year,' said imo secretary general Arsenio Dominguez told the New York Times.
IMO member nations detailed the decisions that still need to be made about pricing the carbon in shipping. Countries are looking at seven different proposals in which prices range from US$20 to $250 per ton of carbon emissions, according to the IMO.
But countries that built economies around shipping could lose significant revenue, because shipping accounts for such a large share of the price of their exports.
Said IMO climate action chief Roel Hoenders: 'Assessing the impact each measure would be an important part of the work. An increase in carbon price may have an impact on their competitiveness at a global scale.'
Environmentalists argue that putting a price on carbon is crucial to addressing global warming, because it can both deter pollution and fund a cleaner economy.
More than 70 nations already have individual carbon taxes or carbon credit trading programmes in effect.
Some 50,000 cargo ships plying the world's oceans, many of which have engines that burn standard bunker oil that emits clouds of toxic particulates and CO2 when burned.
Ocean shipping is responsible for about three per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, which is slightly more than aviation.
SeaNews Turkey
It would be a first step toward imposing a tax on emissions that is not limited to a particular country.
'I'm very confident that there is going to be an economic pricing mechanism by this time next year,' said imo secretary general Arsenio Dominguez told the New York Times.
IMO member nations detailed the decisions that still need to be made about pricing the carbon in shipping. Countries are looking at seven different proposals in which prices range from US$20 to $250 per ton of carbon emissions, according to the IMO.
But countries that built economies around shipping could lose significant revenue, because shipping accounts for such a large share of the price of their exports.
Said IMO climate action chief Roel Hoenders: 'Assessing the impact each measure would be an important part of the work. An increase in carbon price may have an impact on their competitiveness at a global scale.'
Environmentalists argue that putting a price on carbon is crucial to addressing global warming, because it can both deter pollution and fund a cleaner economy.
More than 70 nations already have individual carbon taxes or carbon credit trading programmes in effect.
Some 50,000 cargo ships plying the world's oceans, many of which have engines that burn standard bunker oil that emits clouds of toxic particulates and CO2 when burned.
Ocean shipping is responsible for about three per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, which is slightly more than aviation.
SeaNews Turkey
