Wildfires, floods, rising sea levels, war, and societal breakdown: such scenes have recently been hitting our headlines, and we have all felt the effects in one way or another. However, there are solutions to change this narrative and make the future of the planet and humankind a brighter one.   

Greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts are increasing, and any plans for decarbonisation still unclear. Seas At Risk recently published a report that highlights the shipping industry’s environmental negligence. This report calls the shipping industry out on the huge amounts of dirty Fuel that ships consume and shows that they are a major contributor to the climate and environmental crisis. A recent analysis shows that last year, emissions were sky high beating pre-pandemic levels with terrifying consequences for the climate. However, business-as-usual persists with most of the industry reluctant to make necessary changes.  

This summer, the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO), agreed to decarbonise shipping to net zero by 2050, and although we welcome any ambition, these targets are simply not enough to keep planetary heating below 1.5C. We need further action from the shipping industry, their investors, and domestic and national policy to keep heating within safe limits for civilisation.  

The good news is that we already have the knowledge and technical know-how to meet ambitious targets and start the path to decarbonisation. Through wind-assisted ships, slowing ships down by 20-30%, and using zero-greenhouse gas fuels such as electricity, we can achieve a dramatic decrease in emissions even by the year 2030. And whilst these are being implemented, an infrastructure for renewable fuels can be built which will allow for a true zero carbon emission goal by 2050.  

The IPCC report shows that maritime Supply Chains and ports are vulnerable to climate and environmental change. Natural disasters and geopolitical events affect supply chains, which are then forced to adapt. A recent study from Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute estimates that more than $122bn of economic activity including $81bn in international trade is at risk from the impact of extreme climate events per year.  As just one example of how supply chains can suffer, the COVID pandemic saw huge disruptions in the transportation of goods (think back to the widespread panic buying of toilet paper!). As part of damage control, in some places, companies have now started to transfer all or part of their operations to a nearby country or even back to the company’s original country. This simplifies the supply chain and helps in the struggle to decarbonise ships as products become more localised.   

As decarbonisation and dematerialisation happen, the amount of cargo ships is foreseen to decline. Fossil fuels are currently shipped on a significant scale, but if there is a decrease in demand for these materials and a higher demand for fuels produced from renewable energy, the volume shipped will automatically decrease, leading to the need for fewer cargo ships.  

With all this in mind, it is evident that the shipping industry needs to adapt and fall in line with the change in times. Slowing down ships, using wind-assisted technologies, the use of electric power, and optimising supply chains are the solution, and it’s not difficult to achieve through collaborations between different sectors, stakeholders and using their skills sets to problem solve. It is time shipping thinks outside their carbon-emitting box if they are to enable one planet living.  

The ecological transition is challenging and can feel daunting, but what seems clear to us is that we need to think of collaboration as the fuel of the future with communication as the grease!  

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