Container lines and car carrier companies have revealed their idea for a market-based measure for shipping emissions.
The World Shipping Council scheme has similarities to other proposals in that vessels using fuels which emit greenhouse gases are charged a fee in relation to the amount emitted.
The amount depends on the year, with a reference line steadily tightening to 2050, when it reaches zero.
Funds collected from the system will then be allocated to shipping companies or vessels that use greener fuels, or fuels with lower greenhouse gas emissions.
It is, the council said, a new way to encourage vessels built with a dual-fuel capability to use the greener option more frequently.
The proposal is to use the greenhouse gas fuel intensity standard being developed at the International Maritime Organization. The greener the fuel, the more the vessel will be funded under the mechanism.
The WSC said its proposal, called the Green Balance Mechanism, is a new approach to pricing, although at first glance it looks similar to that submitted by Liberia, Bahamas and the International Chamber of Shipping recently, albeit their proposal focused more on the process of allocating the funds.
The WSC plan suggests the possibility of using monies collected for additional funds such as climate mitigation, for research, development and demonstration projects for developing countries.
These submissions form part of a growing number of reworked ideas that are being submitted to the next meeting of the greenhouse gas intercessional meeting at the IMO. It meets in March in the week before the next Marine Environment Protection Committee.
The working group will be looking at a range of topics, including the life cycle assessment framework that will help the industry assess the carbon footprint of all fuels coming into ships based not only on their emissions during onboard combustion but also those related to their manufacture and transportation.
The group will also examine proposals from the WSC, ICS and others on what the IMO calls its candidate mid-term measures for the industry to meet its self-imposed deadlines for reducing greenhouse gases.
