Solution - 3rd generation

Our proposed solution comprise a Rebate Mechanism (RM) and the third generation of IMERS (RM integrated).

The solution aims to reduce CO2 emissions from international shipping, and simultaneously raise much needed finance for climate change adaptation in developing countries. Furthermore, it aims to reconcile the principles of the IMO and UNFCCC, be straightforward to implement and deliver proportionality of the shipping effort to combating climate change.

Given that the proposal was shaped over several years, with various features incrementally added we first provide a short description of the three generations of IMERS.

  1. The first generation, created in 2007, introduced the idea of simultaneously addressing shipping emissions and climate financing through a fund. It was based on a charge or levy on shipping emissions, linking the levy to an emission target or cap, and direct collection of the levy from ships. This was referred to as a cap-and-charge or hybrid scheme, in various submissions and reviews (IMO 2007b, IMO 2008b, UNFCCC 2008, Faber and Rensma 2008, Stochniol 2008).
  2. The second generation, created in 2008-2009, implemented differentiation based on final destination of goods aiming to address concerns of developing countries. It also linked the levy to an external carbon price rather than a cap on emissions. Furthermore, it provided options to make the proposal more politically acceptable to some developed countries, including an option of collecting the levy as a pre-payment in a country that may not agree to a global levy collection (Haites 2008, Stochniol 2009a, GLCA 2009, QinetiQ 2009).
  3. The third generation, in 2009-2010, created and integrated the rebate mechanism, thus replacing the complex differentiation based on final destination of goods. It also implemented a price ceiling and floor for the levy, and simplified fuel consumption reporting, among other improvements outlined above (IMO 2010a, IMO 2010b, IMO 2010c, ICTSD 2010).

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Please bear with us when the move the description of generation 1 and 2 to the historical repository (May 2011).
Please follow the links currently provided below, or read the recent updates from IMO/UNFCCC negotiations.
Thanks.