Shipping is considered a "high-priority" area for emissions reduction in the energy transition due to it being intrinsically linked with supply chain maintenance as manufacturers and suppliers look to reduce emissions along their value chains.
Shipping. Credit: Avigator Fortuner / Shutterstock
International shipping currently accounts for around 2.5% of global emissions but is essential in global supply chains for other industries which may also have high emissions. Credit: Avigator Fortuner / Shutterstock
The Getting to Zero Coalition, spearheaded by the Global Maritime Forum, alongside the Friends of Ocean Action and the World Economic Forum, has launched its strategy for the energy transition, a study of the avenues and methods for governments and industry to fully decarbonise the shipping sector by 2050 amid calls to push for greater emissions reductions with the COP26 summit just around the corner.
Read more: On the crest of a green wave – Decarbonising the maritime sector
Shipping is a malleable sector and has gone through significant changes in the past, according to a report prepared by University Maritime Advisory Services (UMAS) on behalf of the coalition, and the energy transition may present opportunities to create new markets, new technologies and new jobs alongside the benefits to society emission reduction could bring.
The report discusses the elements required to allow shipping to meet its goals, including political, technical, commercial and economic requirements and the actions needed to deliver them.
"Since 2018, the decarbonisation discussion has been dominated by deliberations of the industry's fuel choice and the chances of carbon pricing at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)", said Dr Tristan Smith, an associate professor at UCL Energy Institute and the lead author of the report. "This study shows that shipping's decarbonisation needs a broader perspective, and more attention on the many levers for change that can and should be pulled including at the national and regional level".
The report suggests that the fuel pathway is not predetermined but will be impacted by the choices of the coming years, but argues the most urgent actions should be to scale up the development of zero-emission fuels, particularly those derived from green hydrogen.
However, other schemes by shipping companies into greener fuels include methanol, ammonia, electricity as well as hybrid-diesel.
Read more: Maersk orders carbon-neutral vessels in decarbonisation push
Jesse Fahnestock, the Head of Research and Analysis at the Global Maritime Forum said collaboration and industry leadership, alongside investment from both the public and private sector is critical to kickstarting the transition to reduce costs and risks and early as possible.
As scaling up is the most vital aspect for fuels, even a base of 5% zero-emissions fuels by 2030 could create a "tipping point" to allow for rapid diffusion in the coming decades.
"We estimate that about 10% of shipping's total fuel consumption have promising conditions for transition to zero-emission fuels during the 2020s, putting this goal squarely within reach," she added.
The report underlines that "full decarbonisation by 2050 is possible", but will require significant investment and collaboration between nations and companies in order to be achieved. It also reveals that those facing barriers to entry must develop more robust plans globally through the IMO.
The Getting to Zero Coalition also recently spearheaded the Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonisation taskforce made up of more than 200 shipping industry stakeholders ahead of the COP26 summit.
Specifically, signatories call on governments to:
- Commit to decarbonizing international shipping by 2050
- Support industrial-scale zero-emission shipping projects through national action
- Deliver policy measures that will make zero-emission shipping the default choice by 2030
"With the Call to Action, leaders from across the maritime value chain send a strong signal to governments meeting in Glasgow next week that it's time to raise ambitions and commit to fully decarbonize international shipping by 2050", Global Maritime Forum CEO Johannah Christensen said.
Read more: Shipping sector outlines plans for net-zero, calls for government support
COP26 President Alok Sharma revealed the summit provides a "unique opportunity" to accelerate global efforts to address climate change, and all industries must push towards the Paris Climate Accord's goals.
"If governments want to be climate heroes at COP26, they must also be climate heroes at the International Maritime Organization, where urgent action is needed to put international shipping on a just and equitable Paris-aligned pathway", Christensen concluded.
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