What do you believe is the single most important factor driving up the cost of living in Nigeria?

A group of three Africa-focused policy organizations, Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI), the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the African Future Policies Hub (AFPH) have today released a report titled "Navigating climate action: Assessing the economic impacts and trade-offs of a shipping carbon tax for African states."

The report is released against the backdrop of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) commitment to cutting sector emissions to net zero by 2050. It explores impacts on the economy and food security in African countries if a proposed IMO carbon levy were implemented without safeguards that cushion negative impacts on developing regions like Africa.

The report details recommendations the IMO should implement to allow for an equitable transition to net zero sector emissions.

Though decarbonization of the shipping industry can be an opportunity for industrialization, there are reservations regarding potential negative impacts of such a levy on cost of living and food security, especially for African countries.

Using the Global Trade Analysis Project Energy-Environmental (GTAP-E) Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model, the report examines the impact of a carbon levy on the African economy as a whole and on select individual African countries.

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