Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk is backing proposals for a market-based carbon tax to bridge the gap between fossil fuels and greener alternatives.
Chief executive Soren Skou has proposed a carbon tax on ship fuel of at least $450 per tonne fuel at the present oil price.
The carbon component would amount to at least $150 per tonne of CO2, but the higher figure is deemed necessary to account for other greenhouse gases.
“Fossil fuels cannot keep being cheaper than green fuels. Action is required now,” Skou wrote on LinkedIn.
“It is vital to consider all greenhouse gases, not just CO2, on a full life cycle analysis.
“Otherwise, we will not be able to truly decarbonise shipping by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement [on climate change].”
Joint responsibility
Maersk does not expect sufficient quantities of carbon-neutral fuels to be available within three years.
But the company believes that introducing market-based measures from 2025 would help accelerate the scale of fuel transition.
It would also incentivise fuel-efficiency measures and retrofits in the existing global fleet, a spokesperson said.
Skou's comments come as the International Maritime Organisation is set to approve carbon-reduction targets at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) Committee meeting that begins on 10 June.
Skou said governments and regulators would play a key role in securing production and availability of zero-carbon fuels for shipping.
“We all have a joint responsibility to do everything in our power to reduce carbon emissions," he said. "We owe that to customers, consumers and society in general.”
Four big shipping organisations — the International Chamber of Shipping, Bimco, the Cruise Lines International Association and the World Shipping Council, which represents the big containership operators — conceded in April that the IMO must consider market-based measures.
However, the price at which the levy should be set remains the subject of debate between shipping bodies and environmental lobby.
Major charterers such as Trafigura suggest a price on carbon of between $250 and $300 per tonne of CO2 equivalent.
Some non-governmental organisations in Europe are lobbying for a levy as high as $750 per tonne.
