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Ikea called out for its role in shipping emissions

Climate activists are demanding Dutch-based homeware giant Ikea to transition to zero-emissions cargo shipping vessels by 2030. 

Members and climate advocates of the Ship It Zero coalition delivered a petition, signed by nearly 20,000 shoppers, to Ikea’s global headquarters in Delft, Netherlands. Activists wearing Ship It Zero T-shirts held a model shipping container and handed out flyers that read “IKEA: Abandon Dirty Ships” to Ikea employees and shoppers. 

“We are demanding Ikea to invest in wind, batteries, and 100% renewable hydrogen-based fuels for its shipping. These are 100% carbon zero and are expected to become available by 2024.

“For prompt emission reduction, they can demand ships slow their speed immediately,” said Nicole Caodie, action coordinator for Pacific Environment.

Carbon credits, biofuels and LNG are going to sink our livable future

Led by environmental organisations Pacific Environment and Stand.earth, the Ship It Zero campaign is calling on some of the world’s largest retail companies, including Ikea, Amazon, Target, and Walmart, to transition to 100% zero-emissions cargo shipping vessels by 2030. 

Splash reported last month on similar protests that took place in Seattle and Long Beach where the Ship It Zero coalition demanded that retail giant Amazon also transitions to zero-emissions vessels for its shipping operations.

“Ikea and other major retail brands are the lynchpin in the massive, fossil-fuelled ocean shipping industry, and can wield enormous power to transform this sector. The false climate solutions touted by the maritime industry, like carbon credits, biofuels, and LNG, are going to sink our livable future before we’ve even set sail, ” said Kendra Ulrich, shipping campaigns director at Stand.earth.

Ikea’s ambition is to be climate positive by 2030. However, Ship It Zero said that its commitment is insufficient as it only calls for a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for transport by 2030. “We are calling on Ikea to set the market signal for no more fossil-fueled shipping this decade to protect public health and keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius and to truly lead on sustainability.” 

Last month, Splash reported how the world’s largest furniture retailer joined the likes of Walmart and Home Depot to buy boxes and charter ships due to the growing port congestion around the world.

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.
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