World Bank urges carbon tax on maritime transportation

Ms Mary Barton-Dock, Director, Environment Department, World Bank, has called for a carbon tax on maritime transportation to tackle climate change threat. She made the call in Durban at an event on “Finance, Capacity Building and Public Education for Adaptation,” at the ongoing UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiation.
Barton-Dock said the tax, if adopted, could be ploughed back into measures to protect the ocean, development and other vital risk reduction projects. She stressed the need to tap private sector resources for oceans conservation, noting that the private sector also benefited from the oceans’ productivity. Barton-Dock said the World Bank would be carrying out work on wealth analysis to upgrade the value of oceans and coastal ecosystem services.
Razeena Omar, the Chief Director, Integrated Costal Management, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, South Africa, said that climate change had posed a huge concern and challenge to Africa. Omar explained that the continent had adopted a programme of action for African coastal countries on the need to make adaptation central to a future climate regime.