Last month, more than 60 shipping experts participated in an Environmental Defense Fund workshop that focused on the development of zero-carbon fuels for shipping. The participants included International Maritime Organization Member State delegations, academics, journalists and representatives of civil society and the shipping industry. All provided different perspectives, which gave the audience a comprehensive idea of the current and emerging availability of different clean shipping technologies.
Environmental Defense Fund Eurpope’s Executive Director, Bryony Worthington, opened the workshop by setting out the opportunity decarbonisation provides for shipping, where she emphasised the urgent need for sensible policy that will unlock zero-emission solutions. She pointed out that the shipping industry is lucky to have a global regulator - the International Maritime Organization – which can implement policies while avoiding competitive distortion.
We know there are challenges, but we want you to focus on the opportunities. We have already seen the youth movement going to the streets and asking for change, and we owe it to those young people to take responsibility. All of us should be thinking ‘What can we do to reduce the risks those young people are facing? If not us, then who?’
- Bryony Worthington
Panel discussion during our workshop on 8 November 2019 in the IMO.
Tristan Smith from University College London and University Maritime Advisory Services then gave an overview of the existing bunker fuel market and presented the future developments and projections, which showed that electrofuels seems to be among the preferred future zero-emission fuels[1]. He was followed by Dan Rutherford from the International Council on Clean Transport (ICCT), who introduced different pathways and barriers to zero-emission shipping, and the conclusions of an ICCT technical workshop on zero-emission vessel technology.
The next session discussed zero-emissions shipping, and explored a variety of options: Nick Ash from Ricardo presented new opportunities in electrofuels and their pros and cons; Peter Kirkeby from MAN Energy Solutions looked at near-term options for retrofit and new build, including new 2-stroke propulsion technologies developed by MAN. Finally, Valentina Ruiz from Persee told us about hydrogen projects in Europe with a specific emphasis on the Flagships project which involves the development of hydrogen vessels in France and Norway.
The second half of the day started with a session discussing different ways to commercialise zero emission solutions and the lessons learnt from other sectors. Carlos Ruiz from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) looked at the EU policy on renewables and shared lessons learnt from the decarbonisation of the power sector in Europe; Tanguy de Bienassis from the World Bank presented the Pilot auction facility and the opportunities the World Bank can offer for development of zero-emission projects in developing countries. Finally, Mark Parrett from Ricardo spoke about the development effort required to accelerate vessel deployment of zero carbon fuels and possible best solution in long term.
The final panel, chaired by Katharine Palmer from Lloyd’s Register, brought together Marie Caillerie from the Bahamas delegation, Bryony Worthington from the Environmental Defense Fund, and Simon Bennet from the International Chamber of Shipping. They discussed the pressure that is put on the IMO to regulate, and its role in carbon pricing. They also shared their opinions about the impact of decarbonisation options on states and the 2023 update of the IMO initial strategy on greenhouse gases, among other topics.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the presenters and attendees of the day and the presenters’ slides are below if you are interested in more details from the workshop.
[1] See Tristan Smith's slides