Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of leading global shipping lines issued a joint declaration at COP28 calling for an end date for fossil-only powered newbuilds, and urging the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the global regulator, to create the regulatory conditions to accelerate the transition to green fuels.
“Global temperatures are breaching critical levels, creating more frequent and devastating results. Therefore, the importance of shipping achieving IMO’s 2030, 2040, and net-zero 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG) targets is very clear. The only realistic way to meet those targets for an industry that accounts for two three percent of global GHG emissions is to transition from fossil to green fuels at scale and at pace,” says the declaration.
The joint declaration calls for the establishment of four regulatory cornerstones:
- An end date for new building of fossil fuel-only vessels and a clear GHG intensity standard timeline to inspire investment confidence, both for new ships and the fuel supply infrastructure needed to accelerate the energy transition.
- An effective GHG pricing mechanism to make green fuel competitive with black fuel during the transition phase when both are used. “This can be done by distributing the premium for the green fuels across all the fossil fuel used.”
- A vessel pooling option for GHG regulatory compliance where the performance of a group of vessels could count instead of only that of individual ships, ensuring investments are made where they achieve the greatest GHG reduction and thereby accelerating decarbonisation across the global fleet; and
- A Well-to-Wake or lifecycle GHG regulatory basis to align investment decisions with climate interests and mitigate the risk of stranded assets.
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Source: Maersk
