LNG Bunkers Dismissed as A "Decarbonisation Dead-End"

T&E believes the deal stuck at MEPC 72 falls short of was is needed. Image Credit: T&E

As the debate begins over how the Shipping industry will achieve its decarbonization goals in the wake on the recent agreement at MEPC 72, environmental group Transport & Environment (T&E) has delivered a blunt assessment of any role that liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkers can play as part of those efforts.

"Time to dump the obsession with LNG, which is a decarbonisation dead-end. Time to properly focus EU research and innovation resources on new zero emission fuels and get moving with stakeholders to discuss them in detail," said T&E's shipping director, Bill Hemmings.

"Focus some time on the European Innovation Fund and support projects to prove whether fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia work, and advance work on the deployment of battery technology in the marine sector.

"Time to consider new ways to generate R&D funding – an EU initiative could benefit European industry enormously and help get something going globally. And, of course, time to deliver on the immediate measures and pre-2023 emissions reductions."

The initial strategy agreed at MEPC 72 envisages a reduction in total GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels.

For the record, while T&E calls this level of ambition "promising," the group says it "falls short of the 70-100% cut by 2050 that is needed to align shipping with the goals of the Paris agreement."

Still, Hemmings is certainly not alone in his assessment of LNG bunkers, and the suitability of LNG as a marine fuel of the future is quickly emerging as an increasingly polarizing issue among stakeholders.

Contrasting comments last month by Wärtsilä who insist LNG as a marine fuel "has a crucial role in GHG reduction roadmap," and by and scrubber manufacturer Langh Tech that "LNG fuel could potentially be more environmentally hazardous than the current arrangement" are typical of mixed messages being sent.