Lifting the taboo of international taxes… This was one of the challenges of the Summit for a new global financial pact, which had been held since Thursday in Paris, to work on a new contract of solidarity between the countries of the North and those of the South.
The context ? Unkept promises of the former towards the latter. Debt crises into which poor countries sink as inflation soars. And then the imperative to find new sources of money to finance the climate transition. In particular in these countries of the South, on the front line of a crisis to which they have historically contributed little.
This Friday morning again, Emmanuel Macron called for a “mobilization” to put in place these international taxes. Several are on the table. On the airline sector, on financial transactions, on fossil fuels, or even a global tax on large fortunes. But the most advanced file, and on which this Paris summit sought to give new impetus, is that of an international carbon tax on the maritime sector. To the point of being able to say the fight won? Not so fast. We take stock.
Why a climate tax on maritime transport may seem justified?
The sector has become essential in international trade, going from 4 billion tons of goods transported by sea in 1990 to 11 billion in 2020. All in fuel most often at heavy fuel oil, particularly bad for the climate. “International maritime transport emits just over a gigatonne of CO2 per year”, explains Faig Abbasov, director of the maritime transport program at Transportation & Environment, a coalition of European NGOs specializing in mobility issues. “This represents about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions,” he continues. And could show 10% tomorrow if traffic continues to grow as expected and if the sector does little to lower its emissions when most others act around it. »
This is one of the weaknesses pointed out to international maritime transport: it is not subject to tax measures that would make it contribute to the fight against climate change. “It is starting in certain regions, particularly within the EU, which has just decided to gradually extend its carbon market to maritime transport from 2025, tempers Faig Abbasov. But there are no common mechanisms on a global scale. As, moreover, for the air sector. »
This international carbon tax would thus aim to fill the void, by levying a financial contribution for each ton of CO2 emitted per boat and per year. A way to generate new revenue to be allocated to the countries of the South and to encourage shipping companies to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible in order to avoid this tax as much as possible.
Is the creation of this new tax a battle already won?
“It’s the one that has the best chance of making progress in the coming months, and on which we can do something as efficiently and as fairly as possible”, indicated Sébastien Treyer, general manager of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), when presenting the challenges of the World Summit for a new financial pact. On this issue, eyes were not so much on these two days of negotiations as on the fifteen which will begin on Monday, in London, at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It is this specialized UN agency that is in charge of regulating international maritime transport and, as such, oversees discussions on the decarbonation roadmap for the sector.
This is the subject of this congress in London. But Faig Abbasov invites us not to have too many illusions. “It will above all be a question, for the sector, of setting objectives for the reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030, 2040, 2050,” he explains. A big block that should occupy most of the talks. We will therefore have to wait for new meetings, this fall and early 2024, to address the question of the measures to be taken. Including the carbon tax. The fight is therefore not won. “Several countries, from Brazil to Russia via China, are very cautious, fearing the repercussions of such a tax on their economies, which are very dependent on international maritime trade”, warns Faig Abbasov.
What amount would allow this tax to be released for the countries of the South?
This is the other big unknown. Everything will already depend on the carbon price that will emerge from the negotiations. The Marshall Islands, which, along with other small island states, are pushing for maximum ambition, are offering 100 euros per tonne of CO2. At this price, such a tax would make it possible to generate around 110 billion euros per year, taking as a basis the sector’s emissions in 2020 (1.1 gigatonnes). Once again, Faig Abbasov invites us not to have too many hopes: “100 euros would be an ideal price, but it is much more likely that if the IMO adopts a carbon tax, the price will be around 5 or 10 euros per tonne, at least initially”. What then makes such a mechanism doubly ineffective, fears the “maritime transport” director of T & E. “Both to free up new resources and to encourage shipping companies to move towards sustainable fuels”, slips Faig Abbasvo.
Beyond the price of carbon, the other big question is to what extent international maritime transport will accept that the money from this tax goes to the countries of the South. “Some of the players believe that it must first be used to finance their own decarbonization,” recalls Faig Abbasvo.
Has the summit for a new global financial pact led to progress?
It was to serve as a political impetus for future negotiations within the IOM. This was one of France’s aims in organizing this summit. Failure ? Difficult, while this summit has just closed, to measure its contributions. “There was no mention of it in the final communiqué, nor did we spot, during these two days, the birth of a coalition of countries in support of the Marshal Islands on maritime taxation”, points out Sébastien Treyer, who closely followed this summit for IDDRI. This does not mean that this summit did not allow progress behind the scenes. We don’t know all the results yet. »
From this Friday in any case, several NGOs, like ONEwhose French branch is headed by Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, did not hide their disappointment at the lack of progress achieved on the global subject of the creation of new international taxes to help raise funds for the countries of the South.