News / COP28: 'Close the gap' between fossil and new fuels, demand shipping lines

© Sheila Fitzgerald |

The CEOs of major European shipping lines have used COP28 to make a joint statement today, demanding more climate action from IMO.

The proposed measures, suggested by CMA CGM, Hapag-LLoyd, Maersk, MSC and Wallenius Wilhelmsen, include the imposition of well-to-wake, rather than tank-to-wake, emissions measurements as standard in regulation and communication – ensuring that fossil majors could not greenwash fossil fuels by converting them into grey/brown hydrogen at equivalent or greater carbon cost.

“Our collective responsibility for a sustainable future and clean practices is paramount,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. We believe that a regulatory framework and clear targets are crucial to accelerating the introduction of alternative fuels and reducing our carbon footprint.”

Lasse Kristoffersen, president and CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen, likewise called for “…a global regulatory framework matching this ambition to drive the investments needed at a global scale”.

The proposals also include a measure more pragmatic for major shipping lines — a ‘vessel pooling option’ measuring the performance of a group of vessels rather than individual ones, akin to a collateralised debt obligation (CDO) for ship emissions. Allowing poorer-performing vessels to be ‘pooled’ with more efficient and cutting-edge ones would allow older vessels to stay in service for longer, and, according to the text of today’s statement “ensur[e] investments are made where they achieve the greatest GHG reduction.”

Another proposal includes a binding end-date for the construction of fossil fuel-only newbuilds. “At MSC our fleet renewal strategy includes 100 dual-fuel vessels,” said MSC CEO Soren Toft, who added: “We want to see an end to delivery of ships that can only run on fossil fuels.”

And another measure still, a greenhouse gas (GHG) pricing mechanism or ‘green balance fee’, would apply a levy on the cost of fossil fuels equivalent to the cost of new zero- or low-emission fuels, and direct the money toward research and development.

The familiar measure bears a similarity with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) proposal for an IMO Maritime Research Fund (IMRF). The ICS proposal was later modified, following criticism that the fund would funnel money from shipping in the third world for the benefit of first world countries. Like the modified ICS IMRF, today’s proposal, too, also includes provision for investment in developing countries.

Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said this would “close the gap between fossil and green fuels and ensuring that the green choice is easier to make for our customers and consumers globally”.

The Loadstar’s coverage of COP28 is sponsored by EVERGREEN LINE: leading the development of a sustainable global container transportation system

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