Shipping industry associations in Australia, Belgium, Norway, Sweden have joined the UK's Chamber of Shipping in supporting carbon trading as a way to reduce ships' CO2 emissions.
The groups have launched a discussion paper detailing a practical solution for an emissions trading scheme.
"It is important that legislators and regulators find a practical way of including shipping in the international work to reduce global warming, " said the UK Chamber of Shipping's president, Jesper Kjaedegaard.
"Shipping is, by a considerable margin, the most efficient way to transport goods, but it still produces about 3% of the CO2 emitted as a result of human activity.
"Clearly such a major industry, transporting more than 80% of world trade, has a responsibility to reduce carbon outputs. We believe some form of emissions trading system is the way to do it."
The groups argue that using a carbon trading scheme would give shipping an incentive to reduce emissions.
