A group of corporate leaders have announced a first-of-its-kind target to progressively switch all of their ocean freight to vessels powered by zero-carbon fuels by 2040.
Amazon, Brooks Running, Frog Bikes, IKEA, Inditex, Michelin, Patagonia, Tchibo, and Unilever are the first signatories to a 2040 ambition statement facilitated by Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels (coZEV).
According to coZEV, a new cargo owner-led network facilitated by the Aspen Institute, this ambition statement sends an important demand signal to the maritime value chain and bunker fuel producers that freight customers want zero-carbon shipping and they expect the industry to rapidly accelerate its decarbonisation efforts in the years ahead.
President and CEO of the Aspen Institute Dan Porterfield said: “The coZEV network is changing the conversation about climate solutions in maritime shipping—and beyond.
“Maritime shipping, like all sectors of the global economy, needs to decarbonise rapidly if we are to solve the climate crisis, and multinational companies will be key actors in catalysing a clean energy transition in shipping.
“We applaud the coZEV 2040 Ambition Statement signatories for their leadership, and we urge other cargo owners, value chain actors, and governments to join forces with us.”
Edgar Blanco, Director, Net-Zero Carbon at Amazon added: “We are thrilled to co-launch this much needed initiative aimed to help switch ocean freight to vessels powered by zero-carbon fuels.
“We look forward to working together with the Aspen Institute and other companies to scale up innovative climate solutions to decarbonise maritime shipping, which will help us meet The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040.”
Today, maritime shipping powered by heavy fuel oil produces 1 billion tonnes of climate pollution each year — as much as a G7 country or all of America’s coal-fired power plants combined.
Maritime shipping currently accounts for 3 per cent of all global emissions, and could rise to 10 per cent by 2050 if the industry continues to rely on carbon-intensive fuels.
Maritime shipping also produces 10-to-15 per cent of the world’s manufactured sulfur oxide and nitrous oxide emissions.
coZEV said: “To mitigate these negative impacts and align with Paris Agreement goals, the maritime shipping industry must transition to zero-carbon fuels by the mid-2020s, use them at scale by 2030, and be fully decarbonised by 2050, at the latest.
“While sending demand signals for zero-carbon shipping is essential to kick-start this transition, companies working with coZEV also recognise that market forces alone will not bring these solutions to scale.
“For this reason, signatories to the 2040 ambition statement are also calling on policymakers around the world to take swift and ambitious action to advance maritime shipping decarbonisation—in their domestic, regional, and international leadership capacities.”
Currently, the International Maritime Organization, shipping’s global regulator, is working under a draft greenhouse gas strategy for shipping that only requires the sector to reduce its absolute emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008.
coZEV said: “Given the long lifespan of maritime cargo vessels and the need to ramp up renewable energy production to support zero-carbon fuel supply chains around the world, the transition must accelerate rapidly.
“This announcement is intended to heighten a sense of urgency and increase confidence in the investment opportunity presented by zero-carbon shipping.”
Ingrid Irigoyen, Director of the Aspen Institute Shipping Decarbonization Initiative, added: “Whether or not shipping will decarbonise is no longer a debate.
“The question is rather how quickly we can get our collective act together, and which supply chain actors and nations will be poised to harness the vast business opportunity this transition represents.”