The International Chamber of Shipping shipowners' association, together with the governments of the Bahamas and Liberia, presented a new proposal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the decarbonisation of maritime transport, with the aim of achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The mechanism is based on an annual tax on gas emissions greenhouse charged per tonne of CO2 equivalent emitted by ships the revenue of which should be used in part to reward and promote the production of marine fuels with low or zero carbon emissions greenhouse gases, including green ammonia, hydrogen and methanol, sustainable biofuels and new technologies such as those for carbon capture on board ships, and in part to create a IMO Net Zero Shipping Fund at the IMO with the aim to raise approximately $2.5 billion per year for support the efforts of developing maritime nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. The fund would be fed with a percentage of up to 20% of the revenues generated by the implementation of the flat-rate tax.

The proposal specifies that, by way of guidance only, Initially the tax could have a value of about 18.75 dollars per tonne of CO2 equivalent emitted, equivalent to about $60 per ton of liquid fuel oil consumed, an amount that is believed to be sufficient to achieve the objectives of the mechanism proposed by the Bahamas, Liberia and ICS

Specifying that it does not express any opinion on the amount of the tax to be charged to ships, the International Chamber of Shipping noted that the proposed amount could nevertheless be sufficient to achieve the objectives. "A mechanism of Tax-based greenhouse gas pricing flat rate on GHG emissions and a feebate element - ha highlighted the Secretary General of the ICS, Guy Platten - will be essential to foster rapid development and rapid diffusion of green marine fuels. To incentivize production and use of green marine fuels - specified Platten - our proposal includes a carefully researched feebate mechanism, which is neutral with regard to fuel, to incentivise the reduction of up to 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year during the first five years. This will help reduce risk in investment decisions and will allow shipping to quickly reach the take-off phase in use of green marine fuels, which are urgently needed given the that their current availability is practically equal to zero".

Mr Platten also stressed the importance of establishing a flat-rate tax valid for all ships: 'in addition to the implications for the achievement of the objectives of the United Nations United on Climate Change - he explained - any failure to Agreement on a fixed greenhouse gas tariff applicable to all ships globally would also lead to a proliferation of piecemeal and unilateral greenhouse gas tariffs applied to the shipping worldwide, regionally and/or nationally, with resulting regulatory chaos, economic inefficiencies, shock risks and disruption of maritime commercial traffic, and to the authority of the IMO as the global regulator of shipping. For the IMO - Platten further specified - a mechanism of Pricing of marine greenhouse gas emissions means that all ships should contribute to the pricing GHG emissions in a fair manner based on their actual GHG emissions greenhouse gases, in line with the principles of fair competition and "those who polluter pays'".