THE International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), representing more than 80% of world’s merchant fleet, has signed a partnership agreement with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to support the decarbonisation of the shipping sector and its role in the transition towards a global energy sector based on renewables.
Signed during a meeting between the heads of the two organisations at the Twelfth Session of IRENA Assembly 2022, the partnership will provide a framework over the next two years for ICS and IRENA to assist with the decarbonisation of the shipping sector and the use of renewable technologies. It will also enable the industry to work closer with IRENA’s global membership of more than 160 countries and territories on issues related to the increasing role of renewable energy in decarbonising shipping.
The organisations will set up a regular exchange of information regarding energy supply and demand relevant to the shipping sector and exchange of data on scenarios of fuels such as green hydrogen and ammonia.
This partnership agreement draws particular focus on the need to ensure an equitable energy transition for developing economies, and the important role of capacity building as well as recognising the energy needs of shipping itself.
Guy Platten, secretary general ICS said, “We need to reduce our reliance on carbon-intensive fuels to power ships, not least because in years to come the global fleet will need to ship zero carbon fuels to countries around the world.
“It is vital that the shipping sector continues to get closer to producers and consumers to facilitate the transition to zero emission fuels, and is a key part of the solution, not a blocker, to the zero-emission transition.”
With new access to governments from 167 countries, ICS hopes that the agreement with IRENA will spur R&D investment from political decision-makers into making zero-carbon fuels widely commercially available.
