{"id":60021137,"date":"2024-05-29T18:08:53","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T17:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60021137"},"modified":"2024-05-29T18:15:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T17:15:01","slug":"a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The world\u2019s first global carbon price is getting closer to becoming a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a March meeting of the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.u-mas.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ISWG-16-UMAS-readout-final.pdf\">majority<\/a> of member states expressed support for a levy on greenhouse gases emitted by the global shipping industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This fee \u2013 along with a fuel standard mandating that ships must increase the proportion of green energy they are using over time \u2013 could upgrade the backbone of global trade to zero-carbon technology. But first, it must make it safely through some challenging political waters at the UN agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement issued by the civil society group Clean Shipping Coalition after the IMO meeting, Sandra Chiri of the Ocean Conservancy <a href=\"https:\/\/cleanshipping.org\/news\/mepc81-support-for-pricing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-shipping-grows-but-important-pieces-of-puzzle-still-missing\/\">said<\/a>: \u201cThe UN is on the edge of adopting the world\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/03\/22\/worlds-first-ever-global-emissions-tax-takes-a-step-closer-to-reality.html\">first-ever<\/a> global emissions price, but the policy will only be as successful as countries make it to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe March talks at the IMO gave us hope that a clear majority of countries \u2013 the Caribbean, the Pacific, Africa, but also the EU and Canada \u2013 understand the huge opportunity of pricing shipping emissions for the industry\u2019s clean transition and for making sure this transition benefits all developing countries. It\u2019s regrettable that a small but persistent minority strives to water down this vital climate measure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IMO runs on a consensus basis, but the chair has the power to overrule holdouts if a large majority of countries are on board with a given decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-shipping-is-a-big-deal-for-the-climate\">Why shipping is a big deal for the climate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the UN, shipping carries about <a href=\"https:\/\/unctad.org\/publication\/review-maritime-transport-2021\">80%<\/a> of global trade: from containerships full of consumer goods, to oil tankers carrying crude and gasoline, and bulk cargo ships carrying coal, iron ore and grains. Shifting this much stuff around requires a lot of energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imo.org\/en\/MediaCentre\/SecretaryGeneral\/Pages\/2021-World-Day-for-Safety-and-Health-at-Work.aspx\">60,000<\/a> cargo ships are operating in international waters. Currently, they all burn fossil fuels, and most of that is heavy fuel oil (HFO), made from the dregs of the oil refining process. Shipping gulps up <a href=\"https:\/\/cen.acs.org\/environment\/greenhouse-gases\/shipping-industry-looks-green-fuels\/100\/i8\">5%<\/a> of global oil demand and emits greenhouse gases (GHG) equivalent to more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/idUSKCN2502AX\/\">a billion tonnes<\/a> of CO2 every year. If this industry was a country, it would be among the top 10 global emitters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the decades, some progress has been made on cleaning up the industry, via tougher standards for new ships, reduction of pollutant levels in fuel, and some monitoring of operations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalmaritimeforum.org\/publications\/taking-action-on-operational-efficiency\">efficiency<\/a>. For example, speed reduction is currently one of the main strategies, because it does not require new fuels or infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But governments have recognised they need to go much further to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions down to nothing \u2013 which scientific consensus says is necessary to preserve a liveable climate system. Last July, IMO member states agreed a <a href=\"https:\/\/cms.globalmaritimeforum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Insight-brief_The-implications-of-the-IMO-Revised-GHG-Strategy-for-shipping.pdf\">strategy<\/a> to reduce shipping emissions by \u201c20% (striving for 30%)\u201d by 2030, and to reach zero emissions \u201cby or around\u201d 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Singapore-Port-Aerial-View-_Zaw-Wai_Alamy-_DG30PA.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Singapore-Port-Aerial-View-_Zaw-Wai_Alamy-_DG30PA-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Singapore-Port-Aerial-View-_Zaw-Wai_Alamy-_DG30PA-1024x679.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Singapore-Port-Aerial-View-_Zaw-Wai_Alamy-_DG30PA.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"Aerial view of a port filled with colorful shipping containers, cranes, and docked cargo ships\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">The Port of Singapore is one of the busiest in the world. According to the UN, shipping carries about 80% of global trade. (Image: Zaw Wai \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Singapore-Port-Aerial-View-_Zaw-Wai_Alamy-_DG30PA.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1698\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>How to achieve these ambitious goals is the key question. At March\u2019s IMO meeting, member states <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imo.org\/en\/MediaCentre\/MeetingSummaries\/Pages\/MEPC-81.aspx\">agreed<\/a> the answer was \u201ca new global fuel standard and a new global pricing mechanism for maritime GHG emissions\u201d. <a href=\"https:\/\/cleanshipping.org\/news\/mepc81-carbon-intensity-indicator-demands-for-un-shipping-body-to-strengthen-efficiency-rules\/\">Tougher<\/a> efficiency rules are also on the cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The IMO is on track to settle these details in early 2025 and adopt them later that year. The rules would come into force in 2027 via an amendment to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which would dictate compliance across the world. Several nations have already established domestic or regional carbon markets, but a fuel levy on shipping would become the first pricing mechanism for GHG emissions that applies globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-accordion block--accordion\"><span class=\"block--accordion__title\"><strong>What is MARPOL?<\/strong><\/span><div class=\"block--accordion__content\"><div class=\"block--accordion__content__inner\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imo.org\/en\/about\/Conventions\/Pages\/International-Convention-for-the-Prevention-of-Pollution-from-Ships-%28MARPOL%29.aspx\">MARPOL<\/a> is a set of rules and regulations that most of the International Maritime Organisation\u2019s 175 member states have ratified. It is a powerful, globe-spanning tool that operates outside the control&nbsp;of any one country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if a ship docks in a country that has not ratified this convention, the ship must still comply, because it would&nbsp;otherwise lose its safety certification. Without this certification, a ship cannot be insured, and bank loans cannot be accessed \u2013 both of which are essential for shipping.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At present, however, though there is still much disagreement on the design of such a system and where to set the starting price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-price-is-right\">What price is right?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, it makes no economic sense for shipowners to switch to buying green fuels, such as hydrogen or ammonia produced using renewable energy. Fossil fuel for ships is much cheaper and, unlike green fuels, tax-free. Clean energy think-tank Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) believes green-hydrogen-produced ammonia could cost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/c7eafc18-4f0a-411f-8ebb-d9399b3ff86a\">USD 1,239<\/a> per tonne of fuel oil equivalent in 2030. That would be just under double the current equivalent fossil fuel price of approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/shipandbunker.com\/prices\/av\/global\/av-glb-global-average-bunker-price\">USD 700<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"40093422\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>These figures would necessitate that a fossil fuel levy be set at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/c7eafc18-4f0a-411f-8ebb-d9399b3ff86a\">USD 130-180<\/a> per tonne of emitted CO2 to close the price gap between green and polluting fuel. Meanwhile, the commodity trading giant Trafigura suggests <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/6647bd84-0d2b-4c14-b62c-e6bd80ff40e4\">USD 250-300 a tonne<\/a> is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The shipping industry itself, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ics-shipping.org\/press-release\/zero-emission-shipping-fund-proposal-submitted-to-un-to-deliver-on-shippings-net-zero-targets\/\">represented<\/a> by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), is cagey on the exact price it wants. In 2022, its secretary-general Guy Platten said USD 50-100 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/779a7f32-800c-41e4-96ed-7259c152232d\">could well be viable<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nations are also far apart on this issue: ahead of the IMO\u2019s meeting in March, a coalition of eight Pacific and Caribbean island states called for a starting price of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/international\/pacific-news\/509177\/pacific-and-caribbean-states-propose-groundbreaking-global-shipping-emissions-levy\">USD 150<\/a>, while in 2022, Japan proposed a starting price of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/ae5893a1-4a7e-4152-8fb2-65679ebc73c4\">USD 56<\/a> in 2025, to rise significantly every five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carbon prices in other sectors vary hugely. According to World Bank <a href=\"https:\/\/carbonpricingdashboard.worldbank.org\/compliance\/price\">data<\/a> collated in 2023, one of the world\u2019s highest existing CO2 levies is the fossil combustible fuels levy in Switzerland, set at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bafu.admin.ch\/bafu\/en\/home\/topics\/climate\/info-specialists\/reduction-measures\/co2-levy.html\">CHF 120<\/a> (USD 131) in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-where-should-the-money-go\">Where should the money go?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Getting to Zero Coalition is a club of climate-ambitious shipping companies. It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalmaritimeforum.org\/news\/the-scale-of-investment-needed-to-decarbonize-international-shipping\/\">estimates<\/a> that decarbonising the sector will require an investment of between USD 70-90 billion per year from 2030 until 2050. Most of this would be needed to build green fuel production plants on land, with only 12% spent on upgrading ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many ships being ordered or built today are already designed to be \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rivieramm.com\/news-content-hub\/news-content-hub\/cmbtech-orders-worlds-first-green-ammonia-dual-fuelled-box-ship-79736\">dual-fuel<\/a>\u201d \u2013 capable of running on both fossil and green fuels. The latter is most often <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seatrade-maritime.com\/containers\/one-orders-its-first-12-methanol-dual-fuel-container-ships\">methanol<\/a>, but sometimes green <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rivieramm.com\/news-content-hub\/news-content-hub\/cmbtech-orders-worlds-first-green-ammonia-dual-fuelled-box-ship-79736\">ammonia<\/a>. (Ammonia still has sustainability <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unep.org\/events\/webinar\/charting-course-exploring-ammonia-shipping-fuel-and-its-potential-impact-nitrogen\">issues<\/a> surrounding reactive nitrogen emissions that need tackling, leading some industry players to <a href=\"https:\/\/zestas.org\/technologies\/#hydrogen\">advocate<\/a> for green hydrogen instead.) Providing green fuel subsidies funded by a fossil fuel levy would help these dual-fuel ships to transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Wallenius_Marines_Oceanbird_ship_concept-2.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Wallenius_Marines_Oceanbird_ship_concept-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Wallenius_Marines_Oceanbird_ship_concept-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Wallenius_Marines_Oceanbird_ship_concept-2.jpg 1920w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 1920px\" alt=\"a concept of wind-powered cargo ship sailing on the ocean\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">Concept vessels could make use of retractable sails to substantially lower the CO2 emissions of container shipping within the next decade (Image:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Wallenius_Marine%27s_Oceanbird_ship_concept.jpg\">Wallenius Marine<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Wallenius_Marines_Oceanbird_ship_concept-2.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"332 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1080\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"1920\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Revenue from this levy could also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wind-ship.org\/en\/category\/wind-propulsion-technology-providers\/\">retrofit<\/a> tens of thousands of suitable vessels with wind-propulsion technologies. This could reduce CO2 emissions faster in the short-term, and achieve a greater emissions reduction per dollar of investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brazil, China, Norway and UAE argue that instead of a universal levy on each tonne of emissions, only the most polluting ships ought to be penalised with a fee. Under their proposal for an International Maritime Sustainable Fuels and Fund mechanism, the baseline for a fuel\u2019s GHG intensity would be set each year. Ships using a more carbon-intensive fuel mix would have to pay into this mechanism, while those using less carbon-intensive fuels would receive the money raised. This \u201cflexible compliance\u201d mechanism would also allow carbon credit trading between the most and least polluting ships, and \u201cbanking\u201d of surplus credits to use the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"40077087\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Environmental experts are <a href=\"https:\/\/cms.globalmaritimeforum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Getting-to-Zero-Coalition_Unravelling-IMO-policy-measures-towards-a-just-and-equitable-energy-transition-1-1.pdf\">concerned<\/a> that building these \u201cflexible compliance\u201d options into the regulation would do little to incentivise the uptake of genuinely zero-emissions fuels. In the short-term at least, it could incentivise the use of biofuels and fossil-fuel derived <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdfdirect\/10.1002\/ese3.956\">hydrogen<\/a> (which have questionable environmental credentials), rather than renewable energy-produced fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brazil and China\u2019s proposal envisions raising only USD 1-2 billion per year in revenues, which would not in itself generate sufficient revenue to pay for shipping\u2019s clean energy transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is also less ambitious than much of the industry\u2019s stance: the ICS is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ics-shipping.org\/press-release\/zero-emission-shipping-fund-proposal-submitted-to-un-to-deliver-on-shippings-net-zero-targets\/\">pushing<\/a> for a per-tonne-of-emissions levy on all shipping, while the Getting to Zero Coalition <a href=\"https:\/\/cms.globalmaritimeforum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Getting-to-Zero-Coalition_Unravelling-IMO-policy-measures-towards-a-just-and-equitable-energy-transition-1-1.pdf\">wants<\/a> levy revenue to be spent on zero-emission and near-zero fuels only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sharing-the-wealth-beyond-shipping\">Sharing the wealth beyond shipping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some countries want to see the levy revenues spread beyond the shipping sector, to boost green fuel production, fund research and development, or even help countries improve their resilience to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) argue the billions raised by a shipping levy cannot be hoarded by the countries that currently <a href=\"https:\/\/unctad.org\/publication\/review-maritime-transport-2023\">dominate<\/a> ship ownership and shipbuilding \u2013 it must be available to all. At COP28, for example, the Marshall Islands <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcst-rmiusp.org\/index.php\/news\/breaking-stories\/1303-ambassador-albon-s-keynote-speech-at-cop28\">argued<\/a> that \u201cthe polluter-pays principle\u2026 requires that the majority of any revenues generated from pricing [shipping] GHG emissions should be directed to addressing those climate impacts in developing countries, particularly SIDS and LDCs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"50060881\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>China has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/f36fc4ac-9e5f-4750-9982-263595a523f7\">objected<\/a> to the use of shipping levy revenues for climate change-related finance beyond the sector. It argues this would absolve wealthy nations of their historic responsibilities to pay into the Paris Agreement\u2019s Loss and Damage fund. Pacific Island states disagree, saying any climate finance raised from shipping must be entirely separate and additional to that fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-in-it-for-business\">What\u2019s in it for business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Concerns over the economic impacts of regulating shipping continue to be raised by China and other large, developing economies. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.repec.eae.fea.usp.br\/documentos\/Pereda_Lucchesi_Diniz_Wolf_04WP.pdf\">study<\/a> by Brazil&#8217;s University of S\u00e3o Paulo found a carbon tax on shipping could reduce GDP in non-OECD developing countries by 0.13% versus a do-nothing baseline, with Africa and South America especially affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, IMO regulation capable of reducing shipping emissions around 20-30% by 2030 is considered a big economic opportunity by some industry players. The largest independent oil tanker firm, Euronav, has announced plans to buy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hydrogeninsight.com\/transport\/new-world-leader-in-green-shipping-maritime-giant-plans-to-add-60-hydrogen-vessels-and-60-ammonia-ships\/2-1-1584017\">120<\/a> zero-carbon vessels, powered by hydrogen and ammonia. Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellenicshippingnews.com\/competition-intensifying-between-korean-chinese-shipbuilders-in-taking-orders-for-methanol-powered-ships\/\">competition<\/a> is intensifying between Chinese and Korean shipyards for contracts to build methanol-ready ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-accordion block--accordion\"><span class=\"block--accordion__title\"><strong>China\u2019s push for low-carbon shipping<\/strong><\/span><div class=\"block--accordion__content\"><div class=\"block--accordion__content__inner\">\n<p>China is already a leader in green shipping technologies, such as<a href=\"https:\/\/www.electrive.com\/2023\/07\/31\/china-launches-battery-electric-container-ship\/\"> battery-powered<\/a> ships and green <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/china-produce-100000-200000-t-green-hydrogen-annually-by-2025-2022-03-23\/\">hydrogen<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), Shanghai Port Group and two other state-owned companies have <a href=\"https:\/\/na.coscoshipping.com\/chinas-first-green-marine-methanol-industrial-chain-cooperation-project-officially-launched\/\">agreed<\/a> to develop a green methanol supply chain in China. Meanwhile, the Chinese clean energy producer GoldWind has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maersk.com\/news\/articles\/2023\/11\/22\/maersk-signs-landmark-green-methanol-offtake-agreement\">signed<\/a> a deal to sell 500,000 tonnes of green methanol annually to the Danish shipping company Maersk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the country needs global climate regulations on shipping to scale up such businesses \u2013 the type of regulations its container shipping companies and conventional fuel producers want to avoid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/16944-ocean-china-14th-five-year-plan\/\">14th five-year plan<\/a> (2021-2025) includes a major focus on port electrification and reducing GHG emissions along inland waterways. The question now is whether the 15th five-year plan, due to be unveiled in 2025, will expand this to other shipping activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hongming Liu, the director of carbon markets at the Environmental Defence Fund in Beijing, is optimistic. \u201cIt will be the last five-year plan before <a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/chinas-new-carbon-neutrality-pledge-what-next\/\">carbon peaking by 2030<\/a>. We think green shipping should at least be considered,\u201d he says. \u201cI believe China can supply at least part of the shipping sector\u2019s needs on green fuels in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If the IMO now fails to adopt a levy, or sets a weak price, it will put such investments at risk. There are big decisions to make \u2013 and less than a year to make them \u2013 if shipping is to stay on course to meet its Paris Agreement-aligned goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A charge on emissions for cargo vessels would become the first global carbon price, but disagreements on system design and starting prices remain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3365,"featured_media":60021162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50039901],"tags":[513,591],"hashtags":[],"country":[50000021,20000110,50041559],"class_list":["post-60021137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ocean","tag-carbon-emissions","tag-shipping","country-brazil","country-china","country-european-union"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A charge on emissions for cargo vessels would become the first global carbon price, but disagreements on system design and starting prices remain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A charge on emissions for cargo vessels would become the first global carbon price, but disagreements on system design and starting prices remain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-29T17:08:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-29T17:15:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ned Molloy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ned Molloy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d037204c162e3cf28f06171b39567e\"},\"headline\":\"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-29T17:08:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-29T17:15:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/\"},\"wordCount\":1923,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Carbon emissions\",\"Shipping\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ocean\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/\",\"name\":\"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-29T17:08:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-29T17:15:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"A charge on emissions for cargo vessels would become the first global carbon price, but disagreements on system design and starting prices remain\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"RG495M Container ship emitting black smoke passing small sailing boats as it enters port.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Earth\",\"description\":\"Global climate and environment news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_\",\"\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d037204c162e3cf28f06171b39567e\",\"name\":\"Ned Molloy\",\"description\":\"Ned Molloy is a shipping consultant focused on fuels and environmental regulation, based in London.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/nedmolloy\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/nedmolloy\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon | Dialogue Earth","description":"A charge on emissions for cargo vessels would become the first global carbon price, but disagreements on system design and starting prices remain","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon","og_description":"A charge on emissions for cargo vessels would become the first global carbon price, but disagreements on system design and starting prices remain","og_url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/","og_site_name":"Dialogue Earth","article_published_time":"2024-05-29T17:08:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-29T17:15:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ned Molloy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/"},"author":{"name":"Ned Molloy","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d037204c162e3cf28f06171b39567e"},"headline":"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon","datePublished":"2024-05-29T17:08:53+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-29T17:15:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/"},"wordCount":1923,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg","keywords":["Carbon emissions","Shipping"],"articleSection":["Ocean"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/","name":"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon | Dialogue Earth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-05-29T17:08:53+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-29T17:15:01+00:00","description":"A charge on emissions for cargo vessels would become the first global carbon price, but disagreements on system design and starting prices remain","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Container-ship-emitting-black-smoke_Alamy_RG495M-1200px-copy.jpeg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"RG495M Container ship emitting black smoke passing small sailing boats as it enters port."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/ocean\/a-greenhouse-gas-shipping-levy-is-on-the-horizon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A greenhouse gas shipping levy is on the horizon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/76d037204c162e3cf28f06171b39567e","name":"Ned Molloy","description":"Ned Molloy is a shipping consultant focused on fuels and environmental regulation, based in London.","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/nedmolloy\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/nedmolloy\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60021137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3365"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60021137"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60021137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60021385,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60021137\/revisions\/60021385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60021162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60021137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60021137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60021137"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=60021137"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=60021137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}