Nations agree to develop international green shipping corridors

Agreed at COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the green shipping corridors will be specific maritime routes decarbonised from end to end, including land-side infrastructure and vessels.

Setting up routes will involve using zero-emission fuel or energy, installing refuelling or recharging infrastructure at ports, and deploying zero-emission capable vessels to demonstrate more environmentally-friendly shipping. 

The UK and the US are also launching a Green Shipping Corridor Task Force focussed on bringing together sector experts, encouraging research and development, and driving work and projects to see these initiatives realised more quickly.

Committing to roll out green shipping corridors will help the sector to comply with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century, and follows the UK-led Clydebank Declaration at COP26, a global initiative to provide a framework for governments to establish zero-emission shipping routes between ports.  

In a statement, transport secretary Mark Harper said: “The challenges posed by climate change are clear and the need to decarbonise maritime has never been greater.