Net zero plan ‘long overdue’: UK shipping warns it’s falling behind on decarbonisation
Britain’s maritime sector risks being left behind by the rest of the transport industry in its bid to decarbonise, according to a collaboration of UK ports, shipping firms and cruise lines.
A letter signed by bosses at eight shipping trade associations, seen by CityAM, argues Labour must find a “long overdue” replacement for the former government’s road map to net zero.
The Clean Maritime Plan was introduced in 2019 under then Conservative Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani and charted the industry’s course to becoming a “role model” for environmental standards internationally. It forecast all new vessels ordered for UK waters would have zero emission capabilities by 2025.
The industry is concerned of a mismatch in priorities, with the new government pledging £100m to greener air travel and a path to wider use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a biofuel touted as critical to airlines’ hitting net-zero, mentioned in the King’s Speech.
According to UK government data, international aviation made up 10 per cent of total emissions as of 2021, while international shipping made up five per cent. On a global basis, shipping accounts for roughly the same amount of emissions as aviation but arguably has received less attention in the race to net-zero.
Rhett Hatcher, chief executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping, said: “It is vital to provide the industry and investors with confidence to aid the sector in its drive to reach net zero. To achieve this, we need a multi-year plan, which creates a framework for public and private sector collaboration and a pathway for emissions reduction.
“The previous plan, published in 2019 is long overdue for review and the Government must now undertake this, alongside industry, as a top priority to ensure that maritime sector does not fall behind in reducing emissions.”
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has set a target of reducing the carbon intensity of emissions from shipping by at least 40 per cent by 2030 and 70 per cent by 2050, compared with 2008 levels.
In April last year, the European Union (EU) extended coverage of its carbon emissions trading scheme to the maritime sector. It means shipowners in the bloc were required to buy credits for every tonne of CO2 emissions they produce between two EU ports, and half of their emissions between an EU port and a non-EU port.
But analysts have warned Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea have driven up projects for emissions over the coming year. Ships have been ramping up speed in a bid to make up for delays caused by the diversions created following the attacks.
BNP Paribas said in a note on Wednesday the violence had resulted in “much longer shipping distances, higher ship speeds and hence much greater emissions.
“This is primarily being seen in the cargo ship segment, which we already estimate being 3mt higher year-to-date vs. 2023. Unfortunately we don’t expect a resolution to this crisis over balance of 2024, and we forecast overall ETS shipping emissions to breach 100m tonnes for the first time since 2019.”