Maersk Climate Change Advisor: Shipping Must "Step Up" on Emissions Reductions

Maersk's Chief Climate Change Advisor says the shipping industry "must step up its efforts to pollute less."

John Kornerup Bang, Chief Advisor on Climate Change at Maersk Group (Maersk) says the shipping industry "must step up its efforts to pollute less," noting that the recent COP 22 climate summit in Marrakesh demonstrated a  "clear-cut opportunity" to enhance the commitment of shipping for 2018 and beyond.

"The industry can improve efficiency by up to 75 percent through operational measures and current technology, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)," highlighted Bang.

However, in order to achieve such goals, Bang says that a "higher level of ambition" is required than is currently laid out in the roadmap for 2017-2023, which will involve enhancing technical, operational, and economic measures.

Further, such actions must be carefully implemented in order to avoid punishing early adopters, notes Bang.

"As a company, we are reaching a point where it will be more and more challenging to drive significant reductions on our own. More than ever, we need global regulation to ensure a level playing field and a transition with the biggest possible environmental impact," said Bang.

As a market leader, Bang notes that Maersk has a significant role in improving efficiency in energy consumption and supply chains.

Maersk Line is said to have reduced CO2 emissions per container moved by 42 percent since 2007 through network design improvements, speed optimisation, technical upgrades, and efforts towards more efficient ships.

"As a market leader, we're constantly raising the bar for energy efficiency and have set an ambitious target of a 60 percent reduction per container by 2020," explained Bang.

"By doing this, we are playing our part in tackling the challenge of decoupling business growth from resource consumption."

As Ship & Bunker reported in November, IMO at the 70th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) adopted a mandatory fuel consumption data collection system for international shipping - a move that Bang has since called "an important milestone in the regulation process."