A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, owner of the world’s biggest container shipping line, said it backs a plan to tax ship fuel that may cost international transporters as much as $12 billion a year to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.
“We would like a global tax and will support that,” said Nils Smedegaard Andersen, chief executive officer of Maersk, at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen today. “The efforts to save fuel and to save the environment go hand in hand.”
Denmark’s government proposed taxing as much as $45 for each metric ton of bunker fuel, which powers ships, according to Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy documents released this month. The world’s fleet releases about 4 percent of emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of Geneva.
The levy may generate between $2 billion and $12 billion a year to be used to reduce carbon emissions in the developing world and to develop new technologies for the shipping industry, according to the proposal. The levy will be discussed at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization in July.
“We’re pursuing the bunker fuel levy agenda as hard as possible,” said Connie Hedegaard, minister of climate and energy in Denmark, in an interview on May 24. “The fact that the Danish shipowners support the proposal is a strong message.”
The proceeds would be held by a fund whose managers weren´t named in the Danish proposal.
The shipping market already is experiencing falling rates as global trade slumps. Freight rates Maersk charged fell 24 percent in the first quarter this year from the year-ago period.
Maersk Better Positioned
Hedegaard said the tax won’t likely hurt the national interest because Maersk, a Danish company, already has more fuel-efficient ships than most carriers.
Copenhagen-based Maersk, which operates about 450 vessels, said this month that it may post a full-year loss for the first time in at least a half-century.
The company trimmed CO2 emissions in 2008 by 9 percent through lower fuel use on ships and reduced flaring, or burning unused gas, from oil platforms, the company said on May 5.
“Even at a time of crisis we focus on cutting emissions by cutting fuel consumption,” Andersen said. “We’re trying to lead the way on making our ships greener without losing the competitive edge.”
“We would like a global tax and will support that,” said Nils Smedegaard Andersen, chief executive officer of Maersk, at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen today. “The efforts to save fuel and to save the environment go hand in hand.”
Denmark’s government proposed taxing as much as $45 for each metric ton of bunker fuel, which powers ships, according to Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy documents released this month. The world’s fleet releases about 4 percent of emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of Geneva.
The levy may generate between $2 billion and $12 billion a year to be used to reduce carbon emissions in the developing world and to develop new technologies for the shipping industry, according to the proposal. The levy will be discussed at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization in July.
“We’re pursuing the bunker fuel levy agenda as hard as possible,” said Connie Hedegaard, minister of climate and energy in Denmark, in an interview on May 24. “The fact that the Danish shipowners support the proposal is a strong message.”
The proceeds would be held by a fund whose managers weren´t named in the Danish proposal.
The shipping market already is experiencing falling rates as global trade slumps. Freight rates Maersk charged fell 24 percent in the first quarter this year from the year-ago period.
Maersk Better Positioned
Hedegaard said the tax won’t likely hurt the national interest because Maersk, a Danish company, already has more fuel-efficient ships than most carriers.
Copenhagen-based Maersk, which operates about 450 vessels, said this month that it may post a full-year loss for the first time in at least a half-century.
The company trimmed CO2 emissions in 2008 by 9 percent through lower fuel use on ships and reduced flaring, or burning unused gas, from oil platforms, the company said on May 5.
“Even at a time of crisis we focus on cutting emissions by cutting fuel consumption,” Andersen said. “We’re trying to lead the way on making our ships greener without losing the competitive edge.”