AN international partnership has been launched to explore potential decarbonisation opportunities for maritime in developing countries.
The initiative — the P4G Getting to Zero Coalition Partnership — is the latest mobilisation effort by leading industry coalitions, research groups and government bodies to engage with partners beyond the maritime sector to decarbonise it.
The collaborarion involves the Global Maritime Forum, World Economic Forum, Friends of Ocean Action, the International Association of Ports and Harbors, the Environmental Defence Fund and University College London Energy Institute all teaming up with the P4G global network, a forum for developing public-private partnerships.
“The partnership aims to identify new growth opportunities that will be needed as countries seek to recover better from the current coronavirus pandemic,” the partners said in a statement.
The new partnership builds on the Getting to Zero Coalition, a multi-stakeholder initiative launched in September of 2019 with the aim of developing zero-emission vessels for commercial use by 2030.
Initially, it will start with three country-specific reports, which the stakeholders hope can offer a national blueprint for cutting shipping emissions and offer lessons to involve other developing and emerging economies.
“Studies of Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa will identify tangible business and investment opportunities in green energy projects that can propel maritime shipping’s decarbonisation and contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth in developing and emerging economies,” the joint statement said.
The Global Maritime Forum has previously estimated that fully decarbonising shipping by 2050 would require between $1.4trn and $1.9trn in investments from 2030 onwards.
The initiative comes as global decarbonisation negotiations have come to a halt owing to the coronavirus backdrop. Shipowners are already indicating that they expect to cut back on planned emissions investments.
“As policymakers formulate policies and stimulus measures to kickstart the global economy, they have a unique opportunity to rebuild a better more sustainable and resilient economy by taking the long-term impacts of investments on the climate into consideration,” the P4G Getting to Zero Coalition Partnership said.
Shipping’s decarbonisation, although widely supported, has also stoked debate about the varying obligations different countries have in contributing to it and the potential adverse economic effects it could have on developing and the least-developed countries.
The International Maritime Organization has pledged to take this concern into consideration when laying out future decarbonisation regulations.
Tristan Smith, a University College London Energy Institute reader, said it was crucial that developing countries are decarbonisation leaders, which will require public-private multi-stakeholder dialogue to ensure that all circumstances are considered both in small island developing countries, the least-developed countries and the countries this project will study.
“The P4G Getting to Zero Coalition Partnership will explore how it can accelerate shipping’s green transition while taking into consideration the technological and economic impact on trade and opportunities for developing states, to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern shipping for all,” he said.
P4G is an international initiative comprising 12 partner countries as well as other organisations and is funded by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands. It invests in more than 50 public-private partnerships with projects in developing countries.
