UN global warming talks move carbon tax on shipping higher on agenda

A GLOBAL carbon tax scheme on shipping industry has gained a foothold at UN climate change talks in Durban, reports Agence France-Presse.

A carbon tax on shipping, said to account for about three per cent of world CO2 emissions, is the only potential source of new funding with any traction, say Green Fund advocates. No one expected it to be adopted at this year`s UN climate conference, but bringing it to the table is an important step, they said.


For the first time, the 194-nation UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) put a draft proposal on the negotiating table that identifies shipping as a potential source of revenue.


"A single ship can emit as much carbon dioxide in one year as several small island states," said Tim Gore, a policy analyst at the charity Oxfam, which has help push the idea of a so-called "bunker fuel tax".


Oxfam calculates that the levy, based on a carbon price of US$25 a tonne generate some $25 billion a year. The cost of transport under this plan would go up by 0.2 per cent, said Mr Gore.


The year 2020 is when a new Green Climate Fund for developing nations conceived at the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit is to supposed to have taken $100 billion annually.


Other potential schemes include a tax on international financial transactions, and a similar levy on cross-border aviation traffic, said AFP.