Breaking News : Denmark, Norway, and the United States to lead Zero-Emission Shipping Mission

Carrying between 80-90% of global trade in a less carbon-intensive manner than other freight transport modes, international maritime shipping nonetheless represents about 2–3% of the world’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions. Without immediate and concerted efforts, emissions from the sector could increase between 50% and 250% by 2050.

The governments of Denmark, Norway, and the United States, along with the Global Maritime Forum and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, today announced that they will lead a new Zero-Emission Shipping Mission as part of Mission Innovation.

The Mission aims to accelerate international public-private collaboration to scale and deploy new green maritime solutions, setting international shipping on an ambitious zero-emission course. The Mission will also be supported by the governments of India, Morocco, the U.K., Singapore, France, Ghana, and South Korea.

“In Denmark, we believe a greener future is possible – if we work together. As one of the world’s largest maritime nations, Denmark has initiated the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission, with great partners from the public and the private sector from all over the world. Our common goal is to make zero-emission vessels the natural choice for ship owners when they renew their fleet,” said Simon Kollerup, Danish Minister for Industry, Business, and Financial Affairs.

“The decarbonization of shipping will result in a growing global demand for climate technology in the years ahead. Norway’s and other countries leading position in green shipping can become an important competitive advantage, giving the maritime industry huge growth potential in international markets,” said Sveinung Rotevatn, Norwegian Minister for Climate and Environment.

“Through fearless technological innovation, ambitious clean energy deployment, and constructive international collaboration, we can build a net-zero carbon economy that creates millions of jobs and lifts our citizens into greater prosperity,” said Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy

The three main goals of the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission are:

• Develop, demonstrate, and deploy zero-emission fuels, ships, and fuel infrastructure in a coordinated fashion along the full value chain.

• By 2030, ships capable of running on hydrogen-based zero-emission fuels—such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol, and advanced biofuels—make up at least 5% of the global deep-sea fleet measured by fuel consumption.

• By 2030, at least 200 of these well-to-wake zero-emission fueled ships are in service and utilizing these fuels across their main deep-sea shipping routes.

“Shipping is on the verge of a clean energy revolution. To set the global maritime industry on a climate-aligned course and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, zero-emission vessels need to be the dominant and competitive choice by the end of this decade. The Zero-Emission Shipping Mission will accelerate public and private efforts around the world to make a zero-emission fleet a reality by 2030,” said Johannah Christensen, Managing Director of the Global Maritime Forum.

“The shipping industry needs to decarbonize to be part of the solution to the climate crisis. It will not be easy, and we don’t have a lot of time, but it is possible and now is the time to act. The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is all about accelerating the transition by finding solutions through collaboration with partners across the ecosystem. With our partners we are proud and excited to co-lead this very important Zero Emission Shipping Mission,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, Chief Executive Officer of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.

The Zero-Emission Shipping Mission is part of Mission Innovation, a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Commission which aims to catalyze action and spearhead a decade of innovation to drive global investment in clean energy research, development, and demonstrations.

The goal is to make clean energy affordable, attractive, and accessible for all this decade, to accelerate action towards the Paris Agreement and net-zero pathways. Mission Innovation was announced at COP21 on November 30, 2015, as world leaders came together in Paris to commit to ambitious efforts to combat climate change. The second phase of Mission Innovation (MI 2.0) is launched at the Innovating to Net Zero Summit in Chile on 2nd June 2021.

For further information: Head of Communications, Torben Vemmelund at [email protected] or +45 2224 1446, or visit http://www.mission-innovation.net/missions/shipping

About the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs

Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs seek to improve the conditions for business in Denmark. The Ministry conducts thorough economic analyses and suggests policy initiatives in areas imperative to economic growth.

The Ministry is responsible for a number of policy areas that are important for the general business environment, including business regulation, Intellectual Property Rights, competition and consumer policy, the financial sector, and shipping. The Ministry is engaged with various international organizations enhancing international framework conditions for growth. In the European Union, the Ministry participates in the work of the councils for Competitiveness and Maritime Transport. The Ministry comprises of 7 agencies

About the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment

The Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment has the main responsibility for ensuring integrated governmental climate and environmental policies. Environmental challenges are complex and affect all actors in society. Developments in the various sectors are largely determined by sectoral policies.

In efforts to create sustainable development, environmental considerations need to be integrated into policymaking in all areas of society. In addition to initiating, developing, and implementing its own measures and actions, the Ministry also acts as promoter and coordinator to ensure that the authorities in the various sectors implement the environmental policies in their particular areas. The Ministry has four departments: the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, and the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Fund

About the U.S. Department of Energy

The mission of the Energy Department is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions

About the Global Maritime Forum

The Global Maritime Forum is an international not-for-profit organization 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 policymakers, 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

About the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping

The center is a not-for-profit foundation. As an independent research center, it will work across the entire shipping sector with industry, academia, and authorities. A highly specialized, cross-disciplinary team will collaborate globally to create an overview of viable decarbonization pathways, facilitate the development and implementation of new energy technologies; build confidence in new concepts and their supply chains; and accelerate the transition by defining and maturing viable strategic pathways to the required systemic change.