Britain is pushing ahead with plans to make the country a leader in maritime decarbonisation. Experts on clean shipping met yesterday to plot the route to zero emissions for the UK maritime sector.
Minister for maritime Nusrat Ghani opened the first meeting of the Clean Maritime Council, which will devise a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector to improve air quality on and around the country’s waterways, ports and shipping lanes.
Air pollution is the fourth greatest threat to UK public health after cancer, heart disease and obesity. In 2016, domestic shipping accounted for 11% of the country’s nitrogen oxide emissions.
Ghani, appointed maritime minister at the start of the year, said yesterday: “The Clean Maritime Plan will bring new opportunities for Britain’s businesses to design, develop and sell green solutions to this global challenge.”
Ghani said that environment is one of the main strands of the government’s Maritime 2050 strategy, a long term look at the opportunities for the sector for the next 30 years.
The clean maritime plan will be published next year and will include policies to tackle emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from shipping, while trying to ensure the UK can reap the economic benefits of the global transition to zero emission shipping.
