Shipping is aiming for climate neutrality by around 2050. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) believes the industry is on track. This was stated by the Secretary General at the SMM shipbuilding trade fair.
The head of the International Maritime Organization IMO, Arsenio Dominguez, believes the industry is on the right path to achieving its climate protection goal. “We are on track,” said Dominguez during the SMM trade fair for shipbuilding, machinery and marine technology in Hamburg. The members of the IMO agreed last year that international shipping should achieve climate neutrality by around 2050. Climate neutrality means that the climate is not affected. More than 170 countries are currently members of the IMO, including Germany, the United States and China.
Dominguez said the 2050 target is achievable. He has no doubts. New technology will play an important role. However, the transformation of shipping is fraught with challenges, said the Secretary General. “There is a price to pay.” According to the International Energy Agency, shipping will account for around two percent of energy-related CO2 emissions worldwide in 2022.
Company boss: not a question of technology
The head of the Augsburg-based company MAN Energy Solutions, Uwe Lauber, said at the trade fair that the technology was already available. The company has been offering alternative drive technology for several years. “It’s not a question of the availability of technology,” said the CEO of the VW subsidiary. “It’s more a question of the availability of alternative fuel.” The company offers engines and propellers for shipping, among other things.
Lauber, who is also a member of the national hydrogen council, also clearly criticized hydrogen policy in Germany. Debate follows debate. It is clear what needs to be done. It is not a question of money, billions of euros are available. What is missing are decisions. “We need hydrogen – in huge quantities,” said Lauber. Shipping needs to replace millions of tons of heavy oil and needs hydrogen to do so.
Source: Stern
