Shipping Firms Back WEF Call for 2050 Shipping Net Zero Emissions Target

Shipping: making the call.  File Image / Pixabay

A call for shipping to take on a 2050 net-zero emissions target as part of supporting the Paris Agreement climate goals has attracted some big names in the industry.

The heads of Maersk Tankers and the Tolvald Klaveness Group, Christian Ingerslev and Lasse Kristoffersen, as well as Jose Maria Larocca, co-head of oil trading at Trafigura, are among those to sign a statement on the World Economic Forum's decarbonisation platform.

"The International Maritime Organization must align international shipping with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by adopting a target of full decarbonization of international shipping by 2050, when the IMO's Initial GHG Strategy is revised in 2021 and 2022," the statement said.

In addition to the above, the signatories outline two more goals for IMO and member states. The call comes ahead of next month's meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which many are looking to for signs of whether member states are getting closer to agreement on global carbon taxes for the shipping industry.

Progress must be made this year at MEPC 76 and MEPC 77 on "meaningful measures bridging the competitiveness gap between carbon-based fuels and zero-carbon energy sources", according to the statement.

The IMO must also ensure "a globally effective and equitable transition to zero-emission shipping".

"This could be achieved if part of the funds raised through a market-based measure was used to support climate vulnerable countries as well as to support the development and deployment of economically viable zero emission fuels and technologies in developing countries, particularly in Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries," according to the statement.