22 September 2021.

Introduction;

About 150 leading companies and organisations including oil majors & port authorities called on September 22, 2021 for decarbonising the global shipping industry completely by 2050.

Highlights

• These companies also urged the governments to step up their action warning time was limited.
• About 90% of world trade are transported by sea and global shipping accounts for 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Thus, this sector is under growing pressure to get cleaner.

Aim of IMO

• UN shipping agency called International Maritime Organization (IMO), aims to reduce the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships by 50 percent as compared to 2008 levels by 2050.
•  However, industry groups are calling to accelerate action from governments.

Initiative by companies and groups

• In the latest initiative, shipping, chartering, finance, fuel production & ports companies and groups are asking for stronger measures in order to ensure that sector will meet the climate goals set by the Paris accord.
•  Paris accord seeks to limit the global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius.

Call to Action initiative

• Call to Action initiative was developed by the World Economic Forum, non-profit Global Maritime Forum and other partners.
• This action initiative calls for decarbonization of the shipping which could only happen with the urgency, if governments and regulators establish proper policy frameworks.

Signatories of Initiative

• Other signatories of initiative include – container lines A.P. Moller – Maersk, MSC & Hapag Lloyd, Royal Dutch Shell, oil majors BP, mining groups BHP and Rio Tinto etc.