Letter from London: Shipowners propose carbon levy

Trade association the ICS is trying to take the initiative and steer the industry’s decarbonisation on its own course

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)—a trade association representing ship owners and operators and more than 80pc of the global merchant fleet—has made its own proposal for a levy on carbon emissions from ships in response to plans by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and European Commission. The ICS submitted its “comprehensive” plans to the IMO, which envision "an internationally accepted market-based measure to accelerate the uptake and deployment of zero-carbon fuels.” The group proposes a levy based on mandatory contributions for each ton of CO₂ emitted from “ships trading globally” and with a gross tonnage in excess of 5,000t. "[Our proposial is] an i