Photo: BNMK 0819/Shutterstock
The United States and Norway have launched a new global challenge to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector.
The “Green Shipping Challenge” was launched Monday by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry during the COP27 UN climate change summit being held this week in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The challenge encourages governments, ports, and companies to prepare commitments to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector and align with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector are significant, increasing, and on a trajectory that is incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Compared with country emissions, the sector would rank among the top 10 largest emitters globally,” the U.S. State Department said in an announcement.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has so far set a preliminary goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships by 50%, compared to 2008 levels, but the global regulator is under pressure to increase its ambition to net zero emissions by 2050 when it finalizes its climate strategy next year.
So far countries, ports, and companies have made more than 40 major announcements related to the Green Shipping Challenge addressing innovations for ships, green shipping corridors, low- or zero-emission fuels, and policies to help promote the uptake of next-generation vessels.
The challenge is also strongly supported by the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel), made up of nine member countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Namibia, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, and the United States.
“Shipping is a major emitter of greenhouse gases globally, therefore it’s vital that quick and decisive action is taken at scale to reduce emissions from this sector to help limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. The Green Shipping Challenge creates an opportunity for participants to push towards cleaner alternatives and provide a major boost in the transition to a sustainable ocean economy,” said Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway and co-chair of the Ocean Panel.
A list of the announcements provided by the State Department are below:
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