Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Dec 07, 2011 10:44AM EST
The International Transport Workers Federation said it supports proposed taxes on bunker fuel and vessel emissions as a way to pay for air pollution reduction efforts.
The ITF said money raised from the taxes would support a “green climate” fund to “assist developing countries to fight poverty and climate change. The ITF said the taxes should apply to equally to ships, regardless of registry.
The London-based ITF issued a statement lamenting the failure so far of a United Nations climate-change conference in Durban, South Africa, to agree on ways to reduce emissions linked to climate change.
“Negotiations are at a complete standstill – despite us being in a situation where emissions are still rising, the forecasts are becoming increasingly grave, and extraordinary weather conditions are destroying jobs, homes and peoples’ lives,” said Alana Dave, ITF climate change coordinator.
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