Clean Shipping Coalition calls for GHG levy

The call comes after International Maritime Organisation (IMO) member states failed to reach an agreement on a draft legal text ahead of the IMO’s 83rd meeting of its Marine Environment Protection Committee next week.

“There has never been more pressure on IMO member states to agree to a fuel standard and GHG pricing mechanism that will sufficiently drive GHG emission reductions and ensure a just and equitable maritime energy transition,” said Delaine McCullough, Ocean Conservancy’s shipping emissions policy manager and president of the Clean Shipping Coalition.

“There is still a strong call from Pacific, African and Caribbean countries for a levy – a high, flat GHG price, on all emissions from ships combined with an ambitious fuel standard, but it must hold through these coming days of debate.

“At the same time, the negotiations that began today on the strengthening of the IMO’s energy efficiency measure, the Carbon Intensity Indicator, are even more critical than ever.

“Improved energy efficiency is the key to immediate and ongoing emission reductions – it’s shipping decarbonisation’s superpower – so the CII must be up to the task.”

The Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions is currently running until 11 April, focusing on reaching agreement on a global fuel standard and greenhouse gas levy.

The three-day Intersessional Working Group on Air Pollution and Energy Efficiency began on 2 April, aiming to revise and improve the functioning of the IMO’s CII.

Next week’s MEPC 83 is scheduled to approve legal text on each of the three with adoption scheduled for an extraordinary session of MEPC in October 2025.