Carbon tax for shipping?

Two major charities have published a joint report which claims that international shipping accounts for 3% of global emissions and that shipping companies should therefore pay a carbon tax of $25 per tonne.  Oxfam and the World Wide Fund for Nature argue that this would only cost the industry around 0.2% of the total value of global trade.

The report suggests that shipping would be a relatively easy source of revenue for the UN Global Carbon Fund, and that the tax would have only a marginal effect on global trade. A carbon tax should encourage owners and carriers to make efforts to reduce their use of carbon, especially in the design and operation of their ships.

The report claims that a carbon tax on shipping is supported by the governments of France, Germany and Mexico and that “many players in the shipping industry are calling for a carbon price to be set”.