Shipping climate action
Our aim is to make sure governments at the UN’s global shipping regulator, the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO), deliver on their climate commitments, and that they do so in an equitable way. This means putting in place policies and measures that ditch fossil fuels for zero-emission alternatives as soon as possible, while supporting states most affected by this transition.
We already know that zero-emission shipping is technologically possible, and many companies are taking action. How? While battery electric ships can cover short distances, long-haul intercontinental voyages can capture free, clean energy by installing modern wind technology systems on their ships, and running on green hydrogen-based fuels manufactured using 100% renewable energy.
Governments must adopt policies to speed up this crucial transition. But cutting emissions is just a half of the story. Fairness and equity is the other. And that’s why it’s time to make shipping pay for its pollution.
Ensuring an equitable transition
One of the key policies currently negotiated at the IMO is a global shipping levy, to be adopted in 2025. The levy will require shipping companies to pay a fee for every tonne of climate-heating pollution emitted from their vessels. Also known as carbon pricing, this tried-and-tested climate policy will gradually make cheap and dirty fossil fuels more expensive, helping to close the price gap with clean energy that is currently more costly.
The mechanism will also generate massive revenues, potentially worth billions of dollars a year. This money fits the funding needs of developing, low-income countries, especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in South America, the Pacific, and Africa:
- Research & development: Large investments in developing new technologies and green energy for shipping, as well as upgrading existing fleets to zero-emission in the next few years, will be key for cleaning up the industry and securing the future and well-being of millions of vulnerable people around the world.
- Climate resilience: As weather and climate conditions become more unpredictable with the climate crisis, ports, coastal cities and trading hubs will need major investments in improving their resilience to climate disruptions, like sea level rise and powerful storms.
- Wider climate adaptation: Part of the shipping revenue could also be used for broad climate action and adaptation – beyond the shipping industry – like renewable energy production and planet-friendly agriculture.
- Impacts on prices: Many developing countries are already paying higher shipping costs for vital products, like food and medicine. While the levy is expected to have minimal or manageable impacts on the costs of goods, it could be used to compensate any potential increase in prices of exports and imports associated with the levy.
Government action!
Making this happen requires governments setting the levy rules right:
- Adopting a meaningful levy for shipping of $150-$400 per tonne of greenhouse gas emitted from ships;
- Designing an equitable the levy revenue distribution, supporting shipping climate action and resilience primarily in SIDS and LDCs.
Where does you government stand when it comes to setting a global levy on shipping emissions? Check our list here.
Driving the green transition
A shipping levy alone cannot carry off in full the clean transition shipping has embarked on. While this policy plays a key role in helping to close the price gap between fossil fuels and clean energy and in generating much-needed revenue, the IMO needs to complement it with further, additional measures. Namely, countries must mandate by law a greater use of renewable energy on ships through a so-called Global Fuel Standard/Mandate. They must also strengthen the requirements for energy efficiency and operational efficiency of ships.