The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has proposed to create a $5bn research and development (R&D) board to eliminate CO₂ emissions from the shipping industry.
According to the plan suggested by the ICS, each shipping company will have to pay $2 a tonne on marine fuel consumption to fund the project.
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The mandatory contribution will help to collect approximately $500m a year. Over the next ten years, $5bn in R&D fund could be raised to support the development of zero-emission ships.
The non-governmental R&D organisation will be called International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB).
Governed by the IMO Member States, IMRB will focus on accelerating the development of commercially viable zero-carbon emission ships by the early 2030s.
ICS deputy secretary-general Simon Bennett said: “Even using conservative estimates for trade growth, a 50% total cut in CO₂ by 2050 can only be achieved by improving the carbon efficiency of the world fleet by around 90%.
“This will only be possible if a large proportion of the fleet is using commercially viable zero-carbon fuels. In practice, if the 50% target is achieved, with a large proportion of the fleet using zero-carbon fuels by 2050, the entire world fleet would also be using these fuels very shortly after, making 100% decarbonisation possible, which is the industry’s goal.”
According to an estimate, international maritime transport is contributing approximately 2% of greenhouse gas emissions across the world.
The UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) aims to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate change goals. IMO is responsible for reducing global shipping sector CO₂ emissions and has set targets to cut shipping emissions by 50% by 2050.
ICS represents approximately 80% of the global shipping industry.
