Realizing Nation’s Climate Goal Through Contairshipping Lens

What is it?

Battery operated ferries between the Danish islands and new types of fuels intended to replace oil on the large Danish ships sailing between the continents. This is some of the 21 proposals that Maersk CEO Søren Skou and the climate partnership for Blue Denmark are now putting forward.

Søren Skou is one of the 13 prominent Danish business leaders who have agreed to lead a partnership within each of their specific industries. Skou is chairman of Blue Denmark, which in addition to the large shipping companies also covers ferry services and fishing.

The recommendations are wide-ranging and cover, for example, the need for less waiting time in ports and a global research fund financed by shipping. 

One of the big changes, however, comes with the work that is already underway to find new fuels for the large ships.

Replacing Fossil Fuels With Alternatives

“It’s almost hard to imagine how big it can get. Today we have an energy system based on oil. 70 percent of the oil pumped up from the ground ends up in the transportation sector as aviation, automotive or marine fuel. There are oil platforms, pipelines and refineries and petrol stations, and all of that needs to be rethought, “says Søren Skou.

• Maersk has previously stated that the company has come up with three alternative fuels, which the shipping giant sees as commercial alternatives to marine oil, namely bio-based alcohol, biogas and ammonia. 
• Recently, Maersk was among the companies that support the huge Copenhagen hydrogen factory that Ørsted will build in the coming years. 
• The factory must supply trucks, ships and aircraft with green fuel.

Moving Away from Shipping Oil

Skou says that Blue Denmark’s 21 proposals can help inspire other countries. He hopes, among other things, that global rules will be developed to help the world move away from the shipping oil that has been crucial to the shipping industry over the past 100 years.

“Global shipping is a globally regulated business. This is good, because if we can find a climate-neutral fuel, it can be regulated globally and ensure that everyone sails on it, even if it costs more for a period of time,” says Søren Skou.

Creating a Carbon Neutral World

Business Minister Simon Kollerup (S) says he is pleased that the Danish companies have been quick to make recommendations themselves.

“This has been approached with impermanent wisdom. The entire Danish business community has moved in front of the ball, and everyone has ambitions to be significantly greener than they are today,” says Kollerup.

He says politicians should preferably avoid pushing legislation down on companies.

“Denmark is a small country, but we are the top among those who are moving most ambitiously forward on the green agenda, while at the same time doing business in it,” says Simon Kollerup.

Shipping accounts for about 90 percent of the goods transported globally and for about three percent of global CO ₂ emissions. Maersk Line is one of the world’s largest shipping companies with approximately one fifth of the container market.

The Danish company has a goal of replacing the entire Maersk fleet of 700 container ships from 2030, so that the company can meet its goal of being CO ₂ neutral in 2050 . At that time, there will no longer be Maersk ships powered by traditional marine fuel.

Søren Skou hopes that it will spread to the other shipping companies in the world.

“It will be great if we come up with a fuel that is CO ₂ -neutral and that can be used in the entire world shipping fleet. It will also help solve the problems for heavy trucks and aircraft, but it is clear that it will take decades,” says Søren Skou.

Denmark’s national goal is to reduce CO ₂ emissions by 70 percent by 2030.