Green shipping corridors grow but sector emissions rise

A report from the Global Maritime Forum has given cause for hope, with the number of green shipping corridors increasing by 40 per cent and a total of 62 initiatives now in place around the globe. However, this good news is tempered by a recent report from UMAS and UCL that emissions from shipping have returned to their 2008 peak. According to UCL’s Dr Tristan Smith, insufficient energy efficiency improvements are largely to blame for the trend, with the sector adopting faster average speeds and consequently higher emissions in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

“The message from this analysis is that the fleet actually has a latent efficiency opportunity – because during the period to 2022, utilisation and speeds of many ship categories actually trended in directions countering efficiency improvements,” said Dr Smith, Professor of Energy and Transport at the UCL Energy Institute.

“But these are trends that can be rapidly reversed with minimal technological intervention and should also come with cost reductions to trade. The analysis also shows that market forces and weak regulation will not crystallise these potential efficiencies – increasing the stringency and efficacy of CII regulation will be key if 2022-2030 is to achieve the 20-30 per cent GHG reductions committed to in IMO’s revised strategy.”

While greater energy efficiency is needed in the short term, alternative fuels must be adopted by the maritime sector to achieve its long-term decarbonisation goals. The concept of green shipping corridors was established in 2021 as a way to scale new sustainable fuels and technologies, and they are central to delivering the goal of having zero-emission fuels account for 5 per cent of all fuels by 2030. 

According to the Global Maritime Forum, six corridors have now moved on from exploration and are preparing for real-world implementation. However, green corridors are at risk of hitting a ‘feasibility wall’ due to the cost of switching to zero-emissions fuels, with greater financial and policy support needed from governments.

“Green shipping corridors have an essential role to play in accelerating zero-emission shipping,” said Jesse Fahnestock, director of Decarbonisation at the Global Maritime Forum.

“This year saw a handful of advanced corridors setting the pace, but continued progress is not inevitable. If industry and national governments make a concerted effort to share the costs and risks associated with new fuels, these leading corridors could together generate a breakthrough for zero-emission shipping before 2030.”