Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  October 25, 2021

Commercial Leaders Collaborate on Zero-Carbon Ocean Freight Ambition

A coalition of cargo owners released Oct. 19 a collective target to transition their ocean freight vessels to zero-carbon fuels by 2040.

The 2040 ambition statement was signed by commercial leaders such as Amazon, Brooks Running, Frog Bikes, IKEA, Inditex, Michelin, Patagonia, Tchibo, and Unilever. The initiative was facilitated by Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV), which is run by the Aspen Institute.

The signatories of the statement are calling on global policymakers to prioritize maritime shipping decarbonization, as the International Maritime Organization currently only requires a 50% reduction in absolute emissions by 2050. By participating with coZEV, companies will be able to collaborate on future zero-carbon maritime initiatives, like advocating for policy changes or establishing the first zero-carbon maritime transportation corridors.

The group estimates that maritime shipping produces 1 billion tons of carbon each year and is responsible for 3% of all global emissions. The industry would need to transition to zero-carbon fuels in the 2020s, use them at scale by 2030 and become fully decarbonized by 2050 in order to reach the targets outlined by the Paris Agreement.

“Maritime shipping has long been a major producer of climate and air pollution, and attempts to transition away from fossil fuels have faced significant hurdles, including a perceived lack of freight customer demand that has stifled investment and scalability of potential solutions,” Ingrid Irigoyen, director of the Aspen Institute Shipping Decarbonization Initiative, said in a statement. “By setting an aggressive target today, a group of leaders is changing the conversation. And this is just the start, we expect this movement among climate-leading companies to grow rapidly. This will allow us to drive economies of scale, innovation, and a surge of confidence among investors and value-chain actors that there is a business opportunity in doing the right thing.”