FEATURE | Global shipping industry stuck with green investments, despite carbon price delay

Some shipping industry players are shrugging off popular opposition to a global carbon tax on the industry and are forging ahead with billions of dollars in emissions-reducing investments, according to company officials and a Reuters analysis of data.

Europe, Brazil and other nations are demanding that the sector, which is responsible for barely three per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, go "green". But, in October, the US and Saudi Arabia, the world's two largest oil producers, successfully spearheaded efforts to postpone by one year a decision on the International Maritime Organisation's proposal of a $380-per-tonne carbon tax.

Some analysts and industry observers initially warned that the absence of such a global framework added complexity to companies' planning and could cause some to pause their "green" investments, but regional regulations and long investment lead times are forcing companies to stay the course, just in case.

Hakan Agnevall - Chief Executive of Wartsila, told Reuters that a one-year carbon price postponement is unlikely to rattle customers, like his, who generally take a 30-year investment perspective.

"It's not bold to say that regulations will change during those 30 years."