Report Highlights Pathways to Net-zero for North American Shipping
The not-for-profit Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (BSMC) released a new report on November 11 focused on further supporting the North American shipping industry’s journey toward achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. The report, a second in a series identifying the pathways and approaches to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions, looks at the roles of vessel types, inventories and GHG accounting approaches.
The Blue-Sky Maritime Coalition (the Coalition) a non-profit corporation, describes itself as a strategic alliance formed to accelerate the transition of waterborne transportation in Canada and the United States toward net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Coalition brings together industry, community, government, academic leadership, and other stakeholders across the waterborne transportation value chain to action projects that remove barriers to accelerating development, encourage innovation, and promote policies in support of zero emissions.
“Developing recommendations to standardize accounting for GHG emissions within the North American shipping industry is essential in paving the way to net-zero emissions. Distributing this data and making it easily accessible is an important step in expanding the drive to adopt these new technologies and ideas,” said David Cummins, BSMC President and CEO.
The report highlights how decarbonizing shipping will require the utilization of multiple fuels and propulsion systems, even within a single vessel category. It revealed that emissions associated with North American shipping are not required to be reported under a standardized structure, so different approaches are emerging as voluntary reporting has continued to increase. The report also sets forth a more detailed assessment of the currently operating vessel categories, their operational constraints and emissions profiles, and the implications for decarbonizing the marine value chain by 2050.
“Although there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to future low- and zero-carbon marine fuels, flexibility and a range of fuels and propulsion systems could be appropriately adopted through advances in technology and regulatory incentives,” continued Cummins.
To read more, download a copy of the report by clicking here. 8ed502_175ad2f5e8cc431eb5e99c3525dde902.pdf (bluesky-maritime.org)