CMA CGM Nears 50% Carbon Intensity Cut Since 2008

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday March 16, 2021

French container line CMA CGM has almost halved the carbon intensity of its operations since 2008, going beyond the International Maritime Organization's target for 2030.

The company has reduced CO2 emissions per TEU-km by 49% from 2008's levels as of 2020, and by 4% from 2019 to 2020, it said in its annual report last week. The IMO is targeting at least 40% cuts in the shipping industry's carbon emissions per transport work from 2008's levels by 2030.

"This reduction is fully aligned with the Group's target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and increasing the share of alternative fuels consumed to 10% by 2023," the company said.

The company will own 32 gas-powered container ships by the end of 2022.

While CO2 emissions accounting is broadly agreed, CMA CGM may face controversy over its accounting of wider greenhouse gas emissions in future because of its shift into LNG bunkering. LNG advocates and opponents disagree over whether the warming effect of the methane released into the atmosphere during supply operations -- methane slip -- should be accounted for over a 20-year or a 100-year period when considering the overall environmental benefits of using LNG.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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