Bunker fund must not act as a smokescreen from a carbon tax

A proposal made today by shipowners for a $2 per tonne levy on ship fuel to create a $5bn fund over 10 years for research into low and zero emission propulsion will be welcomed.

It shows that the climate change emergency the world faces is finally being acknowledged in the heart of a vital global business which has struggled to solve the challenges it faces.

But that is as far as the praise should go, since the proposal appears to be bureaucratic and slow in addressing an issue that needs urgent action now.

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