19 nations signed the Clydebank Declaration at COP26, declaring a joint ambition and intent to support the establishment of green shipping corridors.
Each corridor will, in effect, be a zero-emission shipping route between two ports. The declaration is designed to complement work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the goals set out by the Zero-Emission Shipping Mission.
Among the action points, the signatories recognise the benefits of pursuing synergies between decarbonisation and clean air policies in shipping, and building on existing measures related to the reduction of pollution from ships under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). A rapid transition will be needed in the coming decade to achieve Paris Agreement climate targets. Clean maritime fuels, zero-emission vessels, alternative propulsion systems, and the global availability of landside infrastructure to support these, are imperative for the transition to clean shipping.
“It is our collective aim to support the establishment of at least six green corridors by the middle of this decade, while aiming to scale activity up in the following years, by inter alia supporting the establishment of more routes, longer routes and/or having more ships on the same routes. It is our aspiration to see many more corridors in operation by 2030. We will assess these goals by the middle of this decade, with a view to increasing the number of green corridors,” said the signatories in a joint statement.
The formalisation of this strategy from governments is a step in the right direction for decarbonising the maritime chain, building on efforts that have already been put in by industry itself.
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