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:
- A.P. Moller–Maersk: Maersk Signs a General Protocol for Collaboration with the Spanish Government to Explore Large-Scale Green Fuels Production in Spain
- Amazon: Cargo Owners Send Clear Demand Signals for Zero Emission Ocean Shipping
- American Bureau of Shipping (ABS): ABS Publication of “Green Shipping Corridors: Leveraging Synergies”
- Australia: Australia-Singapore Cooperation on Green Shipping Corridors
- Blue Sky Maritime Coalition and American Bureau of Shipping: Gulf of Mexico Green Shipping Corridor
- Canada: Canada’s Advancements on Green Shipping.
- Chile: The Chilean Green Corridors Network Pre-Feasibility Study and the General Strategy of Maritime Administration to Effectively Implement IMO Instruments
- Cyprus: Cyprus Tonnage Tax System: Reduction of Tonnage Tax as per Environmental Incentives
- Denmark: Catalyst for Change—From Local to Global Green Shipping
- DP World: DP World Announces Large Scale Carbon Reduction Action with Green Shipping Challenge
- Finland and Fintraffic Vessel Services: Port Activity App Boosts the Efficiency of the Entire Logistics Chain and Supports Reducing Emissions
- Finland and Siili Solutions in Conjunction with Fintraffic Vessel Traffic Services: Virtual Port Arrival, Sustainable and Efficient Shipping Through Data-Focused Collaboration and Information Sharing
- Finland, Meriaura, Green NortH2, and Wärtsilä: Cargo Vessel Operated on Green Ammonia, Including E-Fuel Production
- Finland, Rauma Marine Constructions, Viking Line, and Kempower: Scalable Green Maritime Transport Corridor Based on Locally Produced Renewable Fuel
- Germany: Climate Neutral Ships
- Germany: Developing the Pathway for Zero Emission Shipping at the DLR Institute for Maritime Energy Systems
- Greece: Commits to Reducing Emissions at Six Major Ports Through Operational Efficiencies, On-shore Power Supply Systems, and Deployment of Renewable Energy Sources
- Greece: Will Develop an Action Plan to Decarbonize the Domestic Coastal Ferry Fleet Operating Under Public Service Contract and Launch the First Hybrid Ferry in Greece
- Greece: Joins the Declaration on Zero Emission Shipping by 2050
- Green Hydrogen Producers and Green Shipping Leaders: Joint Statement on Green Hydrogen for Shipping
- Green Shipping Programme (GSP): GSP to Develop and Deploy Ammonia as a Fuel for Shipping
- International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH): Clean Energy Maritime Hubs Platform—Getting Maritime Ready to Unlock the Energy Transition
- Republic of Korea: Collaboration on Green Shipping Corridors
- Liberia: Liberia, Taking the Lead in Green Shipping Initiatives and Solutions to Shipowners
- Lloyd’s Register Group Limited: Silk Alliance Identifies Its First Baseline Fleet for Singapore Cluster and Calls for Further Collaborators
- Lloyd’s Register Group Limited: Zero Ready Framework Provides Shipping with Clarity Over Zero Carbon Readiness and Calls for Commitments
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor: Commencement of Discussions for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Singapore Green & Digital Shipping Corridor
- Los Angeles-Shanghai Green Shipping Corridor Partnership: Los Angeles-Shanghai Green Shipping Corridor Partnership and Implementation Plan
- Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping: Blueprint for Green Corridors Pre-Feasibility Studies
- Maldives: Scaling Up Low Carbon Technologies in the Transport Sector
- Netherlands: Launching Customership for Sustainable Zero Emission Ships
- Northwest Seaport Alliance: Toward a Zero-Emission Cargo Gateway in Seattle-Tacoma
- Norway: Norway’s Enhanced Domestic Actions Towards Zero Emission Shipping
- Norway: Norway’s Enhanced International Actions Towards Zero Emission Shipping
- Norwegian Maritime Partners: Cooperation Obligation to Reach the Zero Emissions Goal from Maritime Industry, Shipping Associations Classification Societies and Finance
- Port of Seattle: The Alaska British Columbia Washington Green Cruise Corridor is Underway
- Portugal: Enhancing Portugal’s Zero-Emission Fleet
- Serbia: Group for Maritime Navigation
- Transoceanic Wind Transport (TOWT): TOWT to Launch a Fleet of 200 Drastically Decarbonizing Sailing Cargo Ships by 2035
- United Kingdom: UK Joins Forces with the United States, Norway, and the Netherlands to Roll Out End-to-End Green Shipping Corridors
- United States: Facilitating Green Shipping Corridors Worldwide
- United States: Facilitating U.S. Green Shipping Corridors
- United States: Creating a U.S. National Action Plan for Maritime Decarbonization
- Zéphyr & Borée: The First Fleet of Sailing Container Ships in the World
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