Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has gone on the record to publicly state for the first time its intention to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Speaking in a keynote address at the main conference held during London International Shipping Week, Søren Toft, MSC’s CEO, made the pledge, joining peers such as Maersk and CMA CGM in setting the 2050 target.
MSC data for 2020 shows the Geneva-headquartered line recorded a 44.3% cut in relative CO2 emissions compared with a 2008 baseline. However, over the past 13 months MSC has embarked on the largest secondhand boxship buying spree in the history of containerisation, taking on 110 ships and counting, many above 15 years of age, likely pushing up its emissions count this year.
Toft, who quit Maersk to take the reins at MSC last year, has hitherto avoided setting green target dates. Yesterday, the MSC chief executive laid out his firm’s belief that market-based measures were needed to help shipping along its decarbonisation path.
Is this just the shipping component or the entire through transit for containers?
And of each and every employee and contractor, and their realatives and friends. Oh, and Dave down the pub as well.