In September, China's President Xi Jinping pledged before the UN General Assembly to make China carbon neutral by 2060, but what would that mean for world shipping?

That's a bold target for China, the world's biggest polluter at a time when the country plans to develop about 150 gigawatts of coal power plants. How will you reduce the entire carbon level? The mammoth effort is being revealed as the EU strengthens its Paris accord targets, pledging to cut emissions by 55% by 2030, in line with its Green Deal policies.

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US also plans to become carbon neutral like China

On the other hand, the United States, the world's second-largest emitter of CO2, is expected to leave the treaty in November under the guidance of Donald Trump, who, if re-elected, is likely to backtrack on the country's environmental efforts. At the same time, some states remain committed to their environmental efforts, such as California, which wants to become carbon neutral by 2045.

China's announcement comes before the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2021, COP26, which was supposed to be held this year but was postponed due to COVID-19.

The conference is expected to result in more ambitious climate action by global governments to keep global warming below 2C. Reducing emissions across global supply chains, industrial sectors and pledging to achieve carbon neutrality has become a major trend over the past two years amid increasing public pressure to reduce emissions.

Oil and gas industry leaders invest in renewable energy

This year alone, we've seen many major oil and gas companies such as Shell, BP and Equinor announce their energy transition goals with a major shift towards investments in renewable energy.

The transport sector is also witnessing a shift towards investments in renewable energy such as hydrogen or offshore wind, the latest example being the Scorpio Bulkers, unveiling plans to build a massive wind turbine installation vessel while getting rid of the bulk carrier fleet. .

A major shift in policy implementation is needed

Beijing's promise will require a rapid and massive shift in policy making and implementation to meet the 2060 carbon neutrality target. But if anyone can do it at this rate, China can, as its track record has shown!

Namely, China has become a cleantech manufacturing powerhouse and a world leader in renewable energy, resulting in a surge in investment to support solar and wind projects over the past five years.

On the one hand, China is busy making strides in the field of offshore wind as it is expected to outpace the UK's burgeoning offshore industry.