Global Maritime Forum, Carbon War Room Push for Decarbonization Urgency with Industry Task Force Launch

October 10, 2017

Print This Article Share it With Friends

Global Maritime Forum, Carbon War Room, the World Bank’s Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, and University College London (UCL) today announced the launch of a Task Force on Decarbonizing Shipping. This industry-led initiative will develop tangible pathways for shipping’s decarbonization through five working groups, each focussed on a key area of the industry. Outcomes of the task force will be presented at the Global Maritime Forum’s inaugural summit in October 2018.

The Task Force on Decarbonizing Shipping will bring together leaders and experts from across the maritime industry to develop and mobilise the industry along tangible pathways aligned with holding global temperatures well below 2-degrees Celsius. It will focus on five areas key to effectively addressing the maritime industry’s climate challenge: industry leadership, technology, transparency, finance and carbon pricing. These areas were identified as central to decarbonizing shipping at an exploratory industry workshop held in London in June 2017.

The task force will develop a vision for collaborative innovation on low-carbon technologies, toolkits and guidance to increase transparency about operational efficiency, a best practice guide for incorporating climate risk assessment in ship finance and recommendations on the role of carbon pricing in tackling emissions. All outcomes will be presented at the Global Maritime Forum’s inaugural summit in October 2018.

Niels Smedegaard, CEO, DFDS comments:
“At the 2016 Danish Maritime Forum, industry leaders concluded that the shipping industry needs to adopt a leadership role in addressing the climate challenge. We as an industry must step up. We need to be a part of the solution. This calls for a common platform that delivers forward-looking collaboration to support the long-term sustainability of the global shipping industry—economically as well as environmentally.”

Alastair Marsh, CEO, Lloyd’s Register comments:
“The later we leave decarbonization, the more rapid and potentially disruptive it will be for shipping. This task force will enable industry leaders to come together to determine possible decarbonization pathways, and to promote innovation, collaboration and investment.”

The five working groups of the task force are:

Industry Leadership—This working group will connect and mobilize CEOs and other high-level decision makers and thought leaders to determine an ambitious and achievable vision for decarbonizing shipping. 2. Technology—This working group will accelerate the uptake of clean technology solutions by addressing the challenges facing owners and innovators alike. It will develop a toolbox to help technologies overcome the high-cost, low-income valley of death so that they can achieve viable commercial uptake. The group will focus on proven breakthrough technologies currently entering the market and outline a vision and roadmap for how the industry can work together on the development of low-carbon technologies.
3. Transparency—This working group will determine how information transparency can be improved to reduce information asymmetry and allow for effective decision making on efficient and profitable operations.

4. Finance—This working group will develop principles for integration of climate risk into lending decisions as well as foster development of best practices and tools to support their uptake. This will be achieved through one-on-one work with leading capital providers and a series of industry workshops.

5. Carbon Pricing—This working group will explore the role of carbon pricing in tackling shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions. Key policy options will be summarised for business leaders as a basis for the discussion of industry recommendations.

Leaders and individuals with expertise or interest in these areas can register interest in participating in the Task Force and its working groups at http://info.rmi.org/e/310101/DecarbTaskforce/3g5jn/51248301.

About the Global Maritime Forum The Global Maritime Forum is a Copenhagen-based international not-for-profit foundation dedicated to unleashing the potential of the global maritime industry. It is committed to shaping the future of global seaborne trade to increase sustainable long-term economic development and human wellbeing.

To serve its mission, the Forum convenes leaders from across the maritime community with policy-makers, NGOs, experts and other influential decision makers and opinion shapers from all geographies in a community of purpose to discuss collective challenges and to work together on developing new solutions and recommendations for action.

In order to do so, the Forum identifies, develops and shares new insights and key issues on the global agenda and facilitates collaborative projects and initiatives that can deliver long-term impact and sustainable change.

The Global Maritime Forum is independent of political and commercial interests and operates in full respect of the important role played by governments and international institutions. READ MORE

Industry-Led Summit To Take Action On Shipping’s Decarbonisation Opportunity At UNFCCC COP2 (MarasiNews.com)