- Maersk planning to revolutionalize the way it works by 2050.
- At present, the company attributes to 80% of the global trade emitting 3% of the global carbon emission.
- Maersk emits 36 million tonnes of CO2 every year which they are trying to reduce by using alternative fuels instead of fossil fuels.
- This is an existential exercise by Maersk through which they are aiming to achieve zero-carbon emissions by 2050
The whole world is on a race against time to attain zero-carbon emissions. The maritime industry isn’t too far behind either. The chief of the largest container shipping company in the world is bullish over ambitions to phase out carbon emissions from the industry altogether by 2050, reports Environmental Technology.
Revolutionalizing Maersk
Speaking to the Financial Times, Søren Toft said that he hopes to revolutionize the entire way in which his company, Maersk, currently works and take positive steps towards a greener future.
Achieving the goal will be no mean feat given that shipping is responsible for approximately 80% of all global trade. Given that it contributes around 3% of carbon emissions from the planet, phasing them out completely would go some way towards tackling the problem of global warming and set an impressive precedent for other players in the industry – as well as other industries altogether – to emulate.
How shipping affects the environment?
Unlike aviation or road transport, shipping has flown comparatively under the radar when it comes to imposing regulations on the industry. This has meant that container ships can use bunker fuel rather than diesel or petrol, which is a residue of crude oil. Although it is much cheaper than the alternatives, it’s also far more polluting, meaning shipping is responsible for 3% of all CO2 emissions.
Aside from the obvious atmospheric ramifications of these emissions, shipping can have deleterious effects on the animal life through whose habitats shipping lanes pass. As well as disrupting their eating, sleeping and mating patterns, the noise pollution caused by ships can also hamper animals’ perceptive faculties. With four-fifths of global trade traveling via ship, that may at present be a necessary evil in meeting consumer demand – but Toft believes that CO2 emissions are not.
How does Maersk fare in emission?
As the largest shipping company in the business, Maersk emits 36 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent every year. 98% of that figure is produced by the ships themselves.
Recent months have already seen incremental improvements in shipping emissions and tighter regulation is set to be introduced in 2020, cutting the amount of sulphur allowable in bunker fuel. The International Maritime Organisation has also set a target of slashing emissions by 50% by 2050, but Toft wants to go one further and eliminate them altogether.
What’s the Outlook?
“We will have to abandon fossil fuels. We will have to find a different type of fuel or a different way to power our assets,” said Toft to the FT. “This is not just another cost-cutting exercise. It’s far from that. It’s an existential exercise, where we as a company need to set ourselves apart.”
How are they planning to do it?
Toft’s ambitious plans will certainly take some living up to, not least given the unique challenges of the shipping industry. Since the vessels involved often have to travel distances of thousands of miles without pausing to be refueled, the electric alternatives which have been employed successfully in road traffic are not an option.
Instead, it will most likely take an as-yet-unknown fuel source to help shipping achieve zero emissions by the deadline stated. “To reach the target by 2050, in the next 10 years we need some big breakthroughs,” said Toft.
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Source: Envirotech-online
