BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the World Shipping Council (WSC) prefer a United Nations global carbon tax rather than a European Union emissions trading scheme.
WSC president John Butler said the EU's proposal would create a fragmented regulatory regime for the maritime industry and wouldn't help advance any low-carbon technology.
These groups have asked the UN's International Maritime Organisation to start talks for adopting industrywide market-based measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
"To expedite development, the (IMO) is requested to commence discussions on MBMs as soon as possible and before 2023, with a view to taking some decisions," the groups said in the IMO proposal. The IMO has set a target to reduce global emissions from shipping by 50 percent from 2008 levels by 2050.
The trade groups, which also represent owners of chemical tankers, ferries, and cruise ships, said that such fees would help shipping companies winnow down the myriad alternatives that are now being considered for reducing carbon emissions.
"For a pricing signal to work, there must be viable alternatives to fossil fuels. These alternatives do not yet exist for large trans-oceanic ships," the WSC said in a statement.
Along with the carbon fee, the trade groups asked that IMO member states add their support to a US$5 billion fund for research into which low- and no-carbon fuel alternatives can reach the scale needed by the shipping industry.
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