It has taken decades but the UN-affiliated International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has given the nod to a revised greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy for shipping.
The IMO have set a target of net zero emissions target by 2050. Environmentalists should be happy.
The IMO also agreed to “indicative checkpoints” to reduce total annual emissions from international shipping by 30 per cent by 2030 and to cut annual GHG emissions 80 per cent by 2040, compared to 2008.
Previously, shipping industry and associated activities such as shipbuilding and maritime-related finance planned to halve emissions by 2050.
A new reporting regime on fuel use by the biggest ships was also adopted during the meeting. However, there were also proposals for levies. The experts said such targets could be met only if the IMO agrees to a global levy on vessels.
Shipping is responsible for 3 per cent of global emissions – the same as aviation, which is going for net zero by 2050.
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said, “The unanimous support from all 175 member states was particularly meaningful, and the deal opened a new chapter towards maritime decarbonisation”.
However, experts warn that the deal requires legally binding measures, technological innovation, supportive policies, and collaboration across the value chain to drive the adoption of low- and zero-carbon fuels and technologies for oceangoing vessels.
Fossil fuels have met over 99 per cent of the total energy demand for international shipping. To get on track with this Net Zero target, the sector’s use of alternative fuels (biofuels, hydrogen, ammonia, and electricity) must increase. And Egypt can play its part to in reaching this target. Egypt’s potential for producing green hydrogen and green ammonia is huge, thanks to its location with the Suez Canal Economic Zone and ports on the Mediterranean and Red Seas offering new services to ships including fuelling and catering.
Egypt signed framework agreements with international power companies worth $83b to construct nine green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
These facilities are set to produce 7.6 million tons of green ammonia and 2.7 million tons of hydrogen a year when fully operational.
According to estimates of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Egypt’s hydrogen demand is estimated at a mere 2 per cent of global demand, while future production of hydrogen is expected to substantially increase to provide the world with the essential resources to decarbonise and improve energy security.
