New Coalition Aims to Make Zero-Emissions Shipping Plain Sailing

The World Economic Forum, the Global Maritime Forum and Friends of Ocean Action today launch the Getting to Zero Coalition at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, with the goal of decarbonizing the international maritime shipping sector by 2030. The coalition represents leaders from across the maritime, energy, infrastructure and finance sectors and is supported by decision-makers from government and international organizations.

International shipping carries around 80% of global trade and accounts for 2%-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. Emissions are projected to grow by between 50% to 250% by 2050 if no action is taken. The Getting to Zero Coalition is committed to addressing this by getting commercially viable, deep-sea, zero-emission vessels into operation by 2030.

The demand for zero-emission fuels derived from renewable resources also has the potential to drive substantial investment in clean energy projects in developing countries with a large untapped renewable energy potential.

The Getting to Zero Coalition is part of the Mission Possible platform, an alliance of experts, businesses and policy partners focused on helping seven key sectors – shipping, aviation, heavy-duty road transport, aluminium, chemicals, cement and concrete, and iron and steel – achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

“The Forum is committed to helping those industries that face the greatest challenges in meeting the Paris Climate Goals achieve net zero emissions. This goal will only be achieved if we can adopt a system-wide approach, and through the commitment of both the public and private sectors to prioritize long-term vision of short-term expedience,” said Dominic Waughray, Managing Director, Head of the Centre for Global Public Goods, World Economic Forum.

The ambition of the Getting to Zero Coalition is closely aligned with the UN International Maritime Organization’s strategy on the reduction of greenhouse gases. The strategy prescribes that international shipping must reduce its total annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% of 2008 levels by 2050, while pursuing efforts to phasing them out as soon as possible this century. This will align greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping with the Paris Agreement targets.

“A healthy ocean is key to achieving the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and the Getting to Zero Coalition is an important move in the right direction. Business as usual will not get us where we need to be to achieve sustainability – so it is very encouraging to see hard-to-abate sectors like global seaborne trade boldly stepping up to chart this new course. Let us all support the continued development of cleaner technologies and new fuel solutions,” said Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean and Co-Chair, Friends of Ocean Action.

Industry partners of the Getting to Zero Coalition range from Mærsk and Shell to Citigroup and Cargill, while knowledge partners include Environmental Defense Fund, University College London and the Energy Transitions Commission.

“Energy efficiency has been an important tool which has helped us reduce CO₂ emissions per container by 41% over the last decade and position ourselves as a leader 10% ahead of the industry average. However, efficiency measures can only keep shipping emissions stable, not eliminate them. To take the next big step change towards decarbonization of shipping, a shift in propulsion technologies or a shift to clean fuels is required which implies close collaboration from all parties. The coalition launched today is a crucial vehicle to make this collaboration happen,” said Søren Skou, Chief Executive Officer, A.P. Møller-Mærsk.

Getting to Zero Coalition members

Cargill, Lloyd’s Register, Trafigura, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Anglo-Eastern, Berge Bulk, Caravel Group, Danske Bank, Gard, Forward Ships, KC Maritime, Kuehne + Nagel, MAN Energy Solutions, Marine Capital, MISC, Port of Aarhus, RightShip, Siemens Gamesa, Skuld, Snam, The China Navigation Company, Torvald Klaveness, Tufton Oceanic, Unilever, Vestas, World Fuel Services, Wärtsilä Corporation, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

Knowledge partners

Environmental Defense Fund

Energy Transitions Commission

University College London (UCL) and University Maritime Advisory Services (UMAS)

Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI)

Supported by

International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF)

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA)

Getting to Zero Coalition partners

Global Maritime Forum

Friends of Ocean Action

World Economic Forum
Source: World Economic Forum