Maritime commerce and climate change: how effective would a carbon tax on shipping be?
July 10, 2024
Published in May 2024, the study "Navigating International Taxation: The Effects of a Carbon Levy on Shipping" examines the impact of a hypothetical $40-per-ton CO2 tax on international maritime transport. The authors highlight three key findings: the unequal tax burden, which disproportionately affects poorer countries; a modest impact on reducing CO2 emissions; and tax revenues generated that are far below the associated economic costs. This work provides a quantitative analysis of the tax's effects on trade flows, offering a foundation for ongoing international discussions.
A summary of this paper has been published in FERDI's policy brief : Dequiedt V., De Ubeda A-A, Mien E. (2024), "Towards a Carbon tax on International Shipping: Measuring Economic Effects to Assess Relevance and Support Implementation" FERDI Policy Brief B267.
