Shipping missing its zero-emission target, Athens conference hears

The world is not on track for zero-emission fuels to account for 5% of international shipping fuels by 2030, a new analysis has found, jeopardizing the industry’s 2050 decarbonization goal. 

Presented at the Global Maritime Forum’s annual summit in Athens on Wednesday, the report said that current scalable zero-emissions fuel (SZEF) production in the pipeline would cover just a quarter of the fuel needed by 2030. 

Meanwhile, the delivery of zero-emission vessels is also faltering. At the end of 2022, there were 24 ships capable of running on SZEF with another 144 on order. But current orders are just one-fifth of what is needed to meet mid-term goals, said the report, carried out by the UMAS consultancy. 

“It’s just not enough at scale or at the pace that is needed,” said Katharine Palmer, shipping lead of the UN COP Climate Champions. 

“We need to see the demand and supply actors work together to implement specific solutions.” [Reuters]