Global Shipping Industry Failing to Meet 2030 Zero-Emission Fuel Goal, Report Warns

The global shipping industry is struggling to meet its goal of having zero-emission fuels account for 5% of all fuels by 2030, according to a new report from the UCL Energy Institute, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, and the Getting to Zero Coalition.

The alarming finding serves as a wake-up call for an industry responsible for approximately 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The report, titled ‘Progress Towards Shipping’s 2030 Breakthrough’, highlights that the majority of actors across the maritime ecosystem are moving too slowly to meet the internationally-agreed target. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) set this crucial 5% goal in 2023 as the tipping point for enabling exponential growth in zero-emission fuel adoption. Specifically, the IMO GHG strategy calls for “uptake of zero or near-zero GHG emission technologies, fuels and/or energy sources to represent at least 5%, striving for 10%, of the energy used by international shipping by 2030.”

“Extensive adoption of such fuels by 2030 remains within reach but will require significant and immediate action by policymakers, fuel suppliers, and the shipping industry over the next 12 months,” said Dr. Domagoi Baresic, Research Fellow at the UCL Energy Institute.

The report reveals that only eight of the 35 actions required to deliver the 2030 breakthrough are considered ‘on track’, while 13 are ‘off track’ – an increase from last year’s assessment. It highlights three key areas of concern, including:

Supply: Current production of scalable zero-emissions fuel (SZEF) could cover less than half of the fuel needed to hit the 2030 target.
Demand: The current order book of SZEF-capable vessels would only deliver around 25% of required SZEF demand by 2030.
Finance: Funding for SZEF-related activities has slowed down, while more funding is going towards fossil-fuelled vessels.

“There is no time to waste, and we must see a big shift in momentum over the next 12 months to bring our 2030 targets within reach,” stresses Jesse Fahnestock, Director of Decarbonisation at the Global Maritime Forum.

Despite these challenges, the report indicates that meeting the goal is still achievable if action is stepped up. The shipping industry must now intensify its efforts to align with the 1.5°C climate transition.

As global trade is predicted to quadruple by 2050, the report serves as both a warning and a call to action for all stakeholders of the urgency for the shipping industry to decarbonize.