IBIA CONVENTION: IBIA Chairman Warns COVID-19 is No Excuse for Missing IMO GHG Targets

Zederkof became IBIA Chairman earlier this year. Image Credit: IBIA

The problems caused by this year's COVID-19 pandemic should not be taken as an excuse for the bunker and shipping industries to ease off on their decarbonisation agenda, according to Henrik Zederkov, chairman of IBIA and senior director at Bunker Holding.

In a presentation at the IBIA Annual Convention 2020 on Tuesday, Zederkof talked of the IMO 2030 and 2050 targets as the next two major landmarks for the shipping and bunker industries. 

"COVID-19 does not serve as an excuse for us not to reach these targets," he said.

"COVID-19 is today just another part of the challenge we need to face to come to those targets.

"To find solutions, and develop the products and skills required to reach these targets, we need to partner up across companies, organisations, business areas and across segments and borders."

IBIA favours taking on the 2030 and 2050 targets as separate challenges in order to keep the decarbonisation agenda on track, Zederkof said.

"We from IBIA do not see one solution for the challenge ahead, but lean today more towards a two-step journey," he said.

"Step one is to successfully get us to the 2030 targets by adapting smart technologies to reduce the CO2 emissions from ships -- a development we have seen already being successfully worked with over the last years."

The second step is "to continue to focus on alternative energy sources," he added.

With enough uptake, the use of LNG and biofuels should be able to get the industry close to the 2030 target, he said, but other technologies will be needed beyond that.