The global shipping association International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Bahamas and Liberia are calling on the IMO to establish a climate fund to accelerate the green transition of the maritime sector and support developing countries in achieving the goal, ICS writes in a press release.
”The transition to net zero shipping must be truly global. Otherwise, it will not succeed. The 2050 goal will only remain plausible if government negotiators now roll up their sleeves to develop the regulations needed to establish the Zero Emission Shipping Fund,” says Guy Platten, secretary general of ICS.
The first IMO target for 2030 is less than six years away. Here, green fuels should account for around 5% of total shipping fuel consumption, while aiming for 10%. Currently, the share is below 1%.
The secretary general also points to the urgent need for countries to agree on a global pricing mechanism for shipping’s carbon footprint, which will de-risk investments in green marine fuels and provide billions of dollars in funds to support developing countries.
The proposal would be based on a global contribution system with a fixed rate.
”A global GHG pricing mechanism for shipping urgently needs to be agreed on next year, which will de-risk investment in zero GHG marine fuels and provide billions of dollars of funds to support developing countries.”
The call comes a month before IMO member states are due to gather and hold meetings on the climate strategy, which will be finally adopted in 2025.
(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Kristoffer Grønbæk)
