Why shipping belongs in the fossil fuel phase out
Shipping is a major culprit in the fossil-fueled climate crisis and must be part of global commitments to phase out fossil fuels.
Ridding ships of fossil fuels (in the tank and on board) would reduce pollution equal to 260+ coal plants/year, prevent deadly environmental disasters and improve public health in port communities.
Including shipping in the fossil fuel phase out would also give the UN International Maritime Organization a stronger mandate to transition ships to zero-emission in an equitable way.
Learn more from Shaama Sandooyea, a marine biologist and a climate and ocean activist from Mauritius, here.
Building on green shipping corridors: international blocs for zero-emission shipping
This paper assesses the scalability of port-to-port green shipping corridors and suggests a collaborative model to build on corridor development. In addition to corridors, nations, sub-nationals and their ports can align with regional partners to create international blocs of high ambition ports. By leveraging economic buying power and public-private investments and aggregating demand for renewable electricity and zero-emission (ZE) fuels, regional alliances can develop infrastructure at scale, create clusters for innovation and promote rapid deployment of ZE ships. We examine arguments ports cite as concerns about decarbonisation policies, including cargo diversion, increased costs and reduced profits. By looking to existing examples of regional policy and multi-port collaboration, we challenge the assertion that first movers will suffer loss of business. Regional alliances can generate a rising tide – ensuring that ports of all sizes, economic niches and vessel specialisation can reduce emissions on a trajectory commensurate with our climate emergency.