Description

International shipping is key to the global economy. According to the United Nations, about 80% of the volume of international trade is transported by sea and the percentage is even higher for most developing countries. It is therefore, not surprising, that the shipping industry generates substantial carbon emissions.

In 2015, the EU regulation on monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) was agreed and implemented in 2018. The MRV requires operators of all ships above 5,000 gross tonnes calling at EU ports to monitor and publicly report annual emissions every year. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), agreed to a greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy in 2018, committing the shipping sector to reducing emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008. The strategy specifically calls for “a pathway of CO2 emissions reduction consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals”. In 2019, the Poseidon Principles were providing financial institutions a global framework for integrating climate considerations into lending decisions to promote international shipping’s decarbonisation.

With various developments to regulations and industry standards to reduce carbon emissions, ship-owners are keenly aware of the urgent need to aim for carbon neutrality. To achieve the greenhouse gas reduction targets established by the IMO, the global shipping fleet will need to be modernized and new fuel supply networks developed. However, the challenge is enormous: to move cargo across the oceans, ships require huge amounts of energy and an entirely new generation of zero-carbon fuels and a new generation of technologies will need to be developed. In addition, many of the potential zero-carbon fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen present serious operational challenges.

In this webinar, we will hear from various stakeholders in the shipping industry, and aim to answer the following questions: What are their experiences and views on the decarbonisation of international shipping? What is the role for regulation vis-a-vis finance and market driven tools? What are the hurdles that need to be overcome? What are the opportunities and benefits?

Who should attend?

The webinar will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, civil society members, and wider climate change-related stakeholders interested in a better understanding of developments in environmental governance & corporations.

This seminar is the final installation of a 3-part series on environmental governance.  The session can be seen on APCEL’s Youtube channel at: https://youtu.be/VmGKxDkmfEI.