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MARINE | Climate change In association with UK P&I
The maritime industry is far more efficient than many alternative modes of transportation, accounting for just 3% of global emissions while carrying up to 95% of the UK’s international trade.
Patrick Ryan, Sustainability Director, UK P&I, reviews the huge challenges faced by the international shipping community posed by climate change, not least decarbonisation. Mr Ryan argues that true partnership is needed to rise to this challenge
Partnership time for shipowners and insurers Climate change is one of the most serious and complex challenges our planet faces today. This is a truly global issue that requires action at all levels of society. Every individual, business and industry, including shipping, has a part to play. The precise mechanisms for the decarbonisation of shipping are still being worked out, both politically and technically. But, there should be no doubt that the shipping sector will need to cut its carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s climate change targets. This will not be easy. The maritime industry is far more efficient than many alternative modes of transportation, accounting for just 3% of global emissions while carrying up to 95% of international trade but, many commentators anticipate that emissions from ships (which need to carry their energy source with them) will be harder to eliminate than some other emissions. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) set out its ambitions in its initial Greenhouse Gas (GHG) strategy in The Marine Insurer Nordic & Asia Special Edition | April 2021
2018. It targets a 40% reduction in CO2 intensity by 2030, a 70% reduction by 2050, and a 50% reduction in all GHG by 2050, all with reference to 2008 levels. The regulatory architecture required to enforce or support these goals is still emerging. Although the specific regulatory requirements will have a great impact on how shipowners plan and carry out their operations, the scale of change needed is clear even without getting into the detail. A combination of technical and operational solutions have already been explored and some good progress has been made. By 2018, the carbon intensity of international shipping had fallen by 22% according to the fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study (2020). This was principally achieved by the widespread adoption of slow steaming[i]. The year 2030 is less than nine years away and, in the context of the life-cycle of a ship, there is very little time left to achieve the additional 18% reduction required by that date.
BRUTAL DECADE Common sense suggests that the easiest gains have been
