'Fuels competition? What fuels competition?' Green goals too hard for one-way bets - TradeWinds
‘Fuels competition? What fuels competition?’ Green goals too hard for one-way bets | TradeWinds
The maritime business ought to pull all the stops to fulfil the decarbonisation tasks set by the International Maritime Organization — particularly the short-term ones.
That is the conclusion that several high-level players from across the shipping spectrum discussed at the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum in Athens.
“We need to get out of this conversation about it being a competition between fuels… it may very much look like a competition, but really it isn’t,” said Torben Norgaard, chief technology officer for energy and fuels at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”