Sailing towards a global carbon price IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY?

The document advocates for a global carbon price on shipping to drive decarbonisation, suggesting that such a measure must avoid offsets and free permits while using revenues to fund green infrastructure and support vulnerable nations through rebates rather than exemptions.

• Carbon pricing can reduce shipping emissions through two mechanisms: changing behavior by bridging the cost gap between dirty and clean technologies, and raising revenues for research, innovation, and zero-carbon infrastructure.
• According to the 4th IMO GHG Study, carbon prices of 100 USD/tonne of CO2e could reduce 13% of international shipping GHGs by 2030, while prices of 416 USD/tonne are needed to reduce emissions by 64% by 2050 through zero-carbon fuels.
• Carbon pricing alone is likely insufficient for full decarbonisation due to split incentives between ship owners and operators and the slow pace of IMO political processes; it must be part of a broader toolkit including energy efficiency targets and slow-steaming.
• To ensure equity without creating regulatory avoidance (such as reflagging or rerouting), the document argues against exempting specific countries or routes, proposing instead that revenues be returned as rebates to Least Developed Countries and low-income Small Island Developing States.
• The use of offsets and free pollution permits should be prohibited because they undermine environmental integrity, postpone necessary sectoral action, and reduce the revenues available for decarbonisation.
• The responsibility for paying the carbon price should fall on vessel operators, as they hold the power to make operational and investment decisions that determine emissions.
• A global IMO carbon price should not undermine more ambitious national or regional measures, such as the European Union's process to include shipping in the EU ETS.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2021). Sailing towards a global carbon price IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY? https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sailing-towards-a-global-carbon-price-in-the-maritime-industry.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Sailing towards a global carbon price IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY? 2021. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sailing-towards-a-global-carbon-price-in-the-maritime-industry.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Sailing towards a global carbon price IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY? |date=March 2021 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sailing-towards-a-global-carbon-price-in-the-maritime-industry.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2021sailing, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Sailing towards a global carbon price IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY?}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sailing-towards-a-global-carbon-price-in-the-maritime-industry.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }