The proposal includes core funding from shipping companies across the world of about USD 5 billion over a 10-year period.

Highlights of the proposal:

·        A new non-governmental Research & Development organisation to pave the way for decarbonisation of shipping.

·        Core funding from shipping companies across the world of about USD 5 billion over a 10-year period.

·        To accelerate the development of commercially viable zero-carbon emission ships by the early 2030s.

International maritime transport carries around 90 percent of global trade and is currently responsible for approximately 2 percent of the world’s anthropogenic CO2 emissions.  To achieve the Paris Agreement’s climate change goals, rapid decarbonisation is vital – also for international shipping.  It is shipping’s global regulator, the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has responsibility for regulating the reduction of CO2 emissions by international shipping. The industry-wide move to accelerate R&D is necessary to ensure the ambitious CO2reduction targets agreed to by IMO Member States in 2018 are met. These ambitious IMO targets include?an absolute cut in the sector’s total greenhouse gas emissions of at least 50 percent by 2050, regardless of trade growth, with full decarbonisation shortly after. The 2050 target will require a carbon efficiency improvement of up to 90 percent, which is incompatible with a continuedlong-termuse of fossil fuels by commercial shipping. Meeting the IMO GHG reduction goals will require the deployment of new zero-carbon technologies and propulsion systems, such as green hydrogen and ammonia, fuel cells, batteries and synthetic fuels produced from renewable energy sources.  These do not yet exist in a form or scale that can be applied to large commercial ships, especially those engaged in transoceanic voyages and which are currently dependent on fossil fuels.?

The shipping industry is proposing?the establishment of an International Maritime Research and Development Board (IMRB), a non-governmental R&D organisation that would be overseen by IMO Member States. The IMRB will be?financed by shipping companies worldwide via a mandatory R&D contribution of USD 2 per tonne of marine fuel purchased for consumption by shipping companies worldwide, which will generate about USD 5 billion in core funding over a 10-year period. This USD 5 billion in core funding over a 10-year period generated from the contributions is critical to accelerate the R&D effort required to decarbonise the shipping sector and to catalyse the deployment of commercially viable zero-carbon ships by the early 2030s.? Although the R&D programme and its funding is an initiative of the leading international shipowners’ associations, additional stakeholders’ participation is welcomed. A global fund can be establishedquickly,and the shipping industry is confident that other stakeholders will also want to contribute, potentially generating substantial additional funding for R&D.

In a proposal to the UN IMO, the industry has set out details for governance and funding of the coordinated R&D programme, which can be put in place by 2023?via amendments to the???existing IMO Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships(MARPOL).

The shipping industry’s proposal will be discussed by governments in London at the next meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee in March 2020.

In November, the NWSA’s overall container volumes were 271,178 TEUs, a 15.1% decrease from an unusually high November 2018. International imports were down 19.5%, while exports were down 17.8% for the month. In response to light volumes resulting from the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, shipping lines cancelled nine scheduled vessel calls in November, compared to five in November 2018. Domestic container volumes in November increased 2.9% over November 2018. Alaska’s and Hawaii’s year-to-date volumes were up 5.8% and 1.9%, respectively. 

Imports slid 8.3% to 293,287 TEUs, while exports were up 6.9% to 123,705 TEUs. Empty containers headed overseas decreased 1.7% to 182,992 TEUs. Dockworkers moved 6,966,771 TEUs during the first 11 months of 2019, putting the port on track for its second-busiest year and 5.2% down from the previous year’s record-setting pace. “The effects of these tariffs are being felt by everyone, from American manufacturers and farmers to the consumers who purchase goods moving through our port complex,” said Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach. “As we wait for a resolution to this protracted trade war, the port will remain competitive by delivering exceptional customer service and moving ahead with capital improvement projects that will allow us to grow well into the future. We appreciate our terminal operators, truckers, unionised dockworkers and all the other men and women who keep our port humming with activity,” said Long Beach Harbour Commission President Bonnie Lowenthal. “We’re hoping to close the year on a positive note that focuses on our continuing efforts to move cargo efficiently and sustainably.”

European ports are at the crossroads of supply chains. As clusters of transport, energy, industry and blue economy, they add great value and are at the service of the European economy and society. They are a strategic partner in making this ambitious European project happen. In the coming weeks, ESPO and its members will put forward concrete proposals on how to contribute in the best and most effective way to implement the objectives of the Green Deal. “We share the European Green Deal ambition, which is in line with ESPO’s priorities for the period 2019-2024. The publication of the European Green Deal is an important milestone. Together with our members, we are now developing a concrete plan on how to go forward, how ports can contribute, what policy and financial instruments are needed to support European ports in this huge project. We are looking forward to working with the Commission, Parliament and Council in shaping the policy”, says ESPO’s Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost.