by Ewa Kochańska

As important of a role as international shipping plays economically, it is also responsible for significant environmental damage, ranking as the sixth largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter worldwide.

To speed up its decarbonisation efforts, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) GHG Strategy set a '2030 Breakthrough' target of having scalable zero-emission fuels (SZEF) make up 5% of international shipping fuels by that date.

The newest Climate Action in Shipping - Progress Towards Shipping's 2030 Breakthrough report, authored by UMAS & UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and published annually, analysed SZEF adoption progress in 2023 compared to the year before.

The findings show that there has been progress in areas such as IMO regulation, commitments from shipowners and governments (like national hydrogen initiatives), and the emergence of co-ops (e.g., the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance).

However, full progress remains just partially on track due to challenges and uncertainty in fuel demand and technological and policy developments, among others.

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