The Chief Executive Officers of major global shipping lines have issued a joint declaration at COP 28 calling for an end date for fossil-only powered newbuilds and urging the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to create the regulatory conditions to accelerate the transition to green fuels.
The only realistic way to meet IMO’s 2030, 2040 and net-zero 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, they said, is the transition from fossil to green fuels at scale and at pace.
The leaders of MSC, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM and Wallenius Wilhelmsen are convinced that closer collaboration with IMO regulators will produce effective and concrete policy measures needed to underpin the investment within maritime shipping and its ancillary industries that will enable decarbonisation to occur at the pace required.
The CEO of Maersk, Vincent Clerc, believes that an important next step to the green transition of the shipping industry is the introduction of regulatory conditions to maximise the greenhouse gas emission reduction per invested dollar.
“This includes an efficient pricing mechanism to close the gap between fossil and green fuels and ensuring that the green choice is easier to make for our customers and consumers globally,” he said.
The joint declaration of the CEOs calls for the establishment of four regulatory cornerstones, which include an end date for new building of fossil fuel-only vessels and a clear GHG Intensity Standard timeline to inspire investment confidence, both for new ships and the fuel supply infrastructure needed to accelerate the energy transition; an effective GHG pricing mechanism to make green fuel competitive with black fuel during the transition phase when both are used; a vessel pooling option for GHG regulatory compliance where the performance of a group of vessels could count instead of only that of individual ships, ensuring investments are made where they achieve the greatest GHG reduction and thereby accelerating decarbonisation across the global fleet; and a well-to-wake or lifecycle GHG regulatory basis to align investment decisions with climate interests and mitigate the risk of stranded assets.
“We believe that a regulatory framework and clear targets are crucial to accelerating the introduction of alternative fuels and reducing our carbon footprint,” CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, Rolf Habben Jansen, said.
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