The just and equitable transition that smaller, more vulnerable economies are seeking in the green debate at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is something we’ve covered a lot at Splash over the years. The disbursement of revenues generated by IMO’s emission reduction measures has been a stumbling block in negotiations for more than a decade, but we are now very close to some form of carbon levy and it will be interesting to see how these funds get distributed. I’ve not come down on a particular side of this debate until this month when I carefully went through the 148-page Review of Maritime Transport 2024 penned by UNCTAD, the United Nations’ trade and development body, a stat-laden study that makes very clear the huge disparity in shipping costs between developed and less developed nations. Disruptions, driven by climate change and geopolitical tensions, are putting global trade and supply chains at significant risk, with particularly severe impacts on small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs), the report warned. The transport work intensity (TWI) per dollar of maritime trade in developing economies is double that of developed economies, according to UNCTAD data. TWI for imports to developing economies as a group is 14.3, meaning that transporting goods worth $1 requires an effort equivalent to moving 14.3 tons over 1 km—or 14.3 kg over 1,000 km; 7.2 ton-km per dollar of imports is required in developed countries. A similar trend is seen with regard to exports. As shipping moves to new fuels, this huge gap could widen unless some of a global carbon levy helps cushion this divide. Contents Front page: Owners under pressure to reveal emissions dataEditor’s Comment: How to distribute funds from a carbon levyOctober 2024 ReviewMarkets TankersMarkets Dry BulkMarkets ContainersAnalyst AbstractMonthly BrokerFeature: China’s changing dietInterview: Gus MajedDataOpinion: Monaco special TagsSplash Extra Archive Splash Extra October 2024