Industry-Led Task Force Launched to Decarbonize Shipping

Task Force on Decarbonizing Shipping is an industry-led initiative. File Image / Pixabay

The Global Maritime Forum, Carbon War Room (CWR), the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), and University College London (UCL) today announced the launch of an industry-led Task Force on Decarbonizing Shipping.

"At the 2016 Danish Maritime Forum, industry leaders concluded that the shipping industry needs to adopt a leadership role in addressing the climate challenge," said Niels Smedegaard, CEO of DFDS.

"We as an industry must step up. We need to be a part of the solution. This calls for a common platform that delivers forward-looking collaboration to support the long-term sustainability of the global shipping industry – economically as well as environmentally."

The new initiative is intended to "develop tangible pathways for shipping's decarbonization" through five separate working groups that are each focussed on a key area of the industry.

The five working groups are focused on industry leadership, accelerating the uptake of clean technology solutions, improving information transparency to enable effective decision-making on efficient and profitable operations, developing principles for integration of climate risk into lending decisions, and carbon pricing.

"The later we leave decarbonization, the more rapid and potentially disruptive it will be for shipping," said Alastair Marsh, CEO of Lloyd's Register.

"This task force will enable industry leaders to come together to determine possible decarbonization pathways, and to promote innovation, collaboration and investment."

Outcomes of the task force are set to be presented at the Global Maritime Forum's inaugural summit in October 2018.