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‘The later we leave decarbonisation, the more disruptive it will be for shipping’: LR CEO

In launching a new initiative to reduce shipping’s carbon footprint a senior figure in classification has given a stark warning to the industry about continued environmental inertia.

Alastair Marsh, CEO of UK class society Lloyd’s Register, said today: “The later we leave decarbonisation, the more rapid and potentially disruptive it will be for shipping.”

Marsh is one of the high profile names to have signed up to a new team looking to cut shipping’s emissions.

Global Maritime Forum, Carbon War Room, the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), and University College London (UCL) today announced the launch of a Task Force on Decarbonizing Shipping.

The industry-led initiative will develop “tangible pathways” for shipping’s decarbonisation through five working groups, each focussed on a key area of the industry, the group said in a release.

Outcomes of the task force will be presented at the Global Maritime Forum’s inaugural summit in October 2018. The forum is a successor to the Danish Maritime Forum which ran for three years through to last year.

The five areas of focus are industry leadership, technology, transparency, finance, and carbon pricing. These areas were identified as central to decarbonising shipping at an exploratory industry workshop held in London in June 2017.

The task force said today it will develop a vision for collaborative innovation on low carbon technologies; toolkits and guidance to increase transparency about operational efficiency; a best practice guide for incorporating climate risk assessment in ship finance; and recommendations on the role of carbon pricing in tackling emissions.

Niels Smedegaard, CEO, of shipping line DFDS, commented: “At the 2016 Danish Maritime Forum, industry leaders concluded that the shipping industry needs to adopt a leadership role in addressing the climate challenge. We as an industry must step up. We need to be a part of the solution. This calls for a common platform that delivers forward-looking collaboration to support the long-term sustainability of the global shipping industry – economically as well as environmentally.”

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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