European Shippers opposes flat fuel levies

European Shippers opposes flat fuel levies    The European Shippers Council said Wednesday it welcomes last week’s agreement at the International Maritime Organization for new ships to meet mandatory energy efficiency standards.
   ESC said it “acknowledges the importance of climate change for society and recognizes the responsibility users of transport services have in helping to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of their supply chains.'
   The IMO's adoption of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) is “the first globally binding measure to improve energy efficiency of new ships and limit CO2 emissions from international maritime transport. ESC believes that this is a major step taken by the IMO,” the council said.
   ESC said it wants “reduction measures which are incentive-based, rather than punitive; rewarding the reduction of GHG emissions of each vessel, rather than punishing those that do not. ESC is opposed to a uniform levy or tax on fuel purchases or which allows for costs or charges to merely be passed on to the customers through surcharges without offering a clear incentive to increase the efficiency of a ship or regardless of the vessel's efficiency.”
   The group said it is opposed to mandatory slow steaming or establishing an upper speed limit of vessel, which it said has been suggested by some non-governmental organizations. It argued that such a strategy would reduce the service performance, require additional ships to maintain frequency of delivery, add to the costs of supply chains, and could potentially increase greenhouse gas emissions.

van der Jagt

   “There needs to be clear recognition of the fact that whatever scheme is introduced, it should not raise the costs of efficient services, or curb economic growth. It must also provide an incentive to ship owners and operators to invest in ships and technology that reduce emissions,” said Nicolette van der Jagt, ESC secretary general. 'If you simply introduce a levy that punishes all carriers for emissions, they will just pass it on to customers. Where is the incentive in that?”
   While ESC said it agreed “regional measures on GHG emissions in shipping should be avoided,” it is “contributing constructively” to the discussions of the European Community’s Directorate-General for Climate Action.
   ESC said it believes shippers will increasingly be drawn to those ships that attract lower costs for the supply chain from lower emissions, provided the service does not diminish.
   “But can we wait for all nations to be ready with an instrument? We don’t think so,” the group said in a statement. “Ultimately a global scheme is better than one regionally devised; but it may be unrealistic to expect it to be adopted in one go. First movers in a scheme that rewards best practice rather than punishes existing practice, however, should gain market advantage.” ' Chris Dupin