Shell calls for policy support and investments to decarbonise shipping

Oil and gas major Shell outlined recommendations aimed at the IMO, maritime stakeholders and governments to decarbonise shipping by 2050 in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

PHOTO: Shell's ocean-going LNG bunker barge. Twitter of @Shell

“Some progress has been made in the past two to three years, but the magnitude of action and investment needs to step up with speed to achieve the ambition of net zero by 2050,” the big oil firm argued in the report “All Hands On Deck 2.0”, co-authored with financial advisory Deloitte.

Shell specifically underlined the need to scale up pockets of demand for alternative fuels and accelerate the establishment of green corridors, which could drive the maritime sector’s decarbonisation efforts.

It is imperative to create a "key accelerator" to drive demand and boost the uptake of low-and zero-emission fuels, the UK-based oil producer said. It proposed use of "joint-purchasing coalitions, grouping of long-term contracts, and book-and-claim models" by alternative fuel buyers to boost demand.

Separately, Global Maritime Forum (GMF) had argued that a book and claim chain of custody system will help tackle the maritime sector’s “chicken-and-egg problem when it comes to zero-emission fuel adoption.”

Shell further recommended that local and regional regulations will advance the “near-term material impact” on total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it has to be backed by global regulations to achieve a “level-playing field towards a net-zero target.”

The company further suggested that increasing demonstrations and investments in renewable marine fuel technologies and products would benefit both fuel suppliers and shipowners when considering cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels. 

“From the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine, and the resulting global, economic instability, shipping – an industry vital to global trade and security – has been forced to withstand a turbulent period,” said Melissa Williams, president of Shell Marine.

“However, amid this change, one constant has remained: the continued urgency to decarbonise,” Williams pointed out.

By Konica Bhatt

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