COP27: Norway aims for 50% shipping emissions cut by 2030

Norwegian maritime partners were represented by Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) president, Svein Tore Holsther. In addition to the NHO, collaboration participants include GCE Blue Maritime (maritime cluster centre of excellence), NCE Maritime CleanTech (Cluster for Clean Maritime Solutions), Norsk Industri (The Federation of Norwegian Industries), Norges Rederiforbund (Norwegian Shipowners Association), Kystrederiene (Norwegian Coastal Shipowners), Maritimt Forum (Maritime Forum industry association), Havila Kystruten (Havila Voyages), Hurtigruten, Kongsberg (marine technology) and DNV (classification society).

Norwegian Shipowners’ Association Harald Solberg said, “The Norwegian maritime industry has set ambitious climate goals, and we are taking a leading role in developing green solutions for the future. Already, nine out of 10 Norwegian shipowners say they will equip their ships with new technology that cuts emissions. The same number also believe they will be climate neutral by 2050. Owners are considering a wide range of solutions, such as green ammonia, hydrogen, wind-assisted propulsion, batteries and the use of artificial intelligence to reduce ships’ fuel consumption. However, to succeed with the green shift we need strong partnerships between the industry, governments and academia. We welcome the Norwegian Government’s commitment in this regard.”

Norway, Uruguay and Panama join green fuels for maritime initiative

Norway also joined a global green maritime fuel initiative called the Clean Energy Marine Hubs (CEM-Hubs) initiative, described by International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) as "a global, cross-sector effort to accelerate the supply of low-carbon fuels". The governments of Uruguay and Panama also joined the initiative.

The three governments join the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada, who were the first to join the CEM-Hubs initiative when it was announced in the US earlier this year.

"The initiative will engage with all members to facilitate information and knowledge exchange on policies, programmes and decarbonisation projects. This will catalyse investments in the marine infrastructure needed to transport zero and low emissions fuels from producer to consumer," a statement from ICS said.

Speaking in Sharm El-Sheikh after the announcement, ICS chairman Emanuele Grimaldi said, “A year on from COP26, a great deal is still being talked about the production of hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels, but very little on how this will actually be done. That’s why this initiative is so crucial, because it brings together the whole energy value chain to ensure that producing, transporting, and using net zero-emissions fuels becomes a reality. Decarbonising shipping and decarbonising the world are two sides of the same coin. Our ‘Shaping the future of shipping’ conference in Glasgow demonstrated that all stakeholders across the world’s energy landscape need to work together to decarbonise, and I’m delighted to see that reflected by this announcement in Egypt today.”

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