ICS urges governments to ‘bite the bullet’ to meet net zero 2050 targets

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), working with the governments of Bahamas and Liberia, has presented in a comprehensive new proposal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to help achieve net zero shipping emissions by 2050.

At the heart of the proposal is a greenhouse gas (GHG) free, charged to ships per tonne of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) emitted, combined with a ‘feebate’ mechanism to incentivise the accelerated production and uptake of zero/near-zero GHG marine fuels, such as green ammonia, hydrogen, methanol, sustainable biofuels and new technologies such as on-board carbon capture.

ICS secretary general Guy Plattern said: “To incentivise the production and use of green marine fuels our proposal includes a carefully thought out feebate mechanism, which is fuel neutral, to incentivise prevention of up to 100 million tonnes of GHG emissions per year during the first five years.