Norway Joins New Green Marine Hub Initiative At COP27

Yesterday the governments of Panama, Uruguay, and Norway endorsed the CEM-Hubs initiative to supply green fuels and support decarbonization efforts. The announcement was made today at COP27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference held this year at Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Clean Energy Marine Hub Initiative (CEM-Hubs), is a public-private initiative endorsed by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) to accelerate the production, export, and import of low-carbon fuels across the world. This announcement came a week after Maersk warned that oil companies are holding back the shipping industry’s decarbonization efforts by not providing affordable green fuel.

“The scale of the challenge that is global decarbonization is enormous, and the maritime sector needs to speed up the use of green fuels and technologies,” said a representative from Norway. “By seizing the chance to work with ports, shipowners, and energy providers we and other governments at COP are sending a clear signal to others that there are opportunities for action.”

Also Read: U.S. and Norway ‘Challenge’ Shipping Sector to Reduce Emissions

The three governments join the UAE and Canada, who were the first to join the CEM-Hubs initiative when it was announced at the Clean Energy Ministerial, in Pittsburgh, earlier this year. The initiative hopes to catalyze investments in the marine infrastructure needed to transport zero and low-emission fuels from producer to consumer.

By 2050, the shipping industry hopes to transport over 50% of all traded zero-carbon fuels. However, according to ICS, there are currently almost no active projects which demonstrate this practically; for example, just one ship in the global fleet is able to carry liquefied hydrogen.

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