Although total emissions from shipping are about seven percent lower than in 2008, there is a limit to what can be achieved so long as ships remain dependent on fossil fuels and global demand for maritime services continues to grow.

The carbon reductions required by the IMO target of reducing total emissions from international shipping by at least 50 percent by 2050 compared to 2008, will only come from identifying and developing new zero-carbon technologies so that commercially viable zero-carbon ships can begin to operate in the 2030’s.

There are several potential solutions, such as hydrogen or ammonia produced from renewable energy sources, but these do not yet exist in a scale or form that can be applied to large ocean-going ships. A host of complex technical questions remain to be answered, including safety, storage, distribution, energy density considerations and lifecycle impacts. In short, we do not yet know what the fuels of the future will be.

The Shipping Industry has therefore proposed a USD5 billion R&D programme, to be overseen by IMO and financed through a required R&D contribution of USD2 per tonne of marine fuel consumed. The R&D programme would be managed through a non-governmental research and development organisation – an International Maritime Research and Development Board or IMRB. 

The co-sponsors emphasize that for the proposal to work, the R&D contributions need to be compulsory via an IMO regulation, to ensure that all shipping companies globally contribute, in a fair and equitable manner, and that the necessary funds will be generated to achieve the programme’s objectives.

The Cyprus Shipping Chamber played an active role in the deliberations for the development of the proposal for the R&D programme and fully supports this initiative as it will provide funding to much needed advances in maritime innovation and technology, to help develop the zero-emission solutions of the future that shipping sorely needs.