Report shows shipping slip on net zero targets

The report, ‘Progress Towards Shipping’s 2030 Breakthrough’, was compiled by the UCL Energy Institute, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, and the Global Maritime Forum’s Getting to Zero Coalition. According to the authors, the key finding is that the sector is not on track to have zero-emission fuels account for five per cent of the fuel mix by 2030 – a vital net zero stepping stone set out by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The report states that production of scalable zero-emissions fuel (SZEF) currently in the pipeline could end up covering less than half of the fuel needed to hit the 2030 target. Elsewhere, the current order book of SZEF-capable vessels would only deliver around 25 per cent of required SZEF demand by the same year. Finance for clean fuels is also now off track due to a slowdown in SZEF funding and more investment in fossil-fuelled vessels.