A two-week convening of the UN shipping agency concluded late last week with a clear majority of member nations in favor of a global climate pollution levy. If adopted next year, that fee would be the first of its kind in any sector or industry. While details remain to be ironed out, support from Caribbean Island states was instrumental in building support for the measure, especially for a simplified fuel standard and universal price on greenhouse gas pollution. Thirty-four countries supported some kind of GHG pricing mechanism; 14 supported some form of credit trading system.
Island states are some of the strongest proponents of a fee on climate pollution, with the Marshall Islands — the third-largest “flag state” — calling for a charge of $150 per ton of CO2-equivalent emissions. The final details are expected to be adopted by the UN International Maritime Organization next year. “The UN is on the edge of adopting the world’s first-ever global emissions price,” the Ocean Conservancy’s Sandra Chiri said, “but the policy will only be as successful as countries make it to be.” (Bloomberg $, CNBC, Bunkerspot, SupplyChainBrain, News Reports, Offshore Energy)