China Achieving Carbon Neutrality: What Will It Mean for Maritime Transport?

In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping promised before the UN General Assembly to make China carbon neutral by 2060, but what would that mean for global maritime transport?

This is an ambitious goal for China, which is the world’s largest polluter at a time when the country plans to develop around 150 gigawatts in coal plants. How will they reduce their carbon footprint? The massive effort is being unveiled as the EU strengthens its Paris Agreement targets, promising to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030, according to its Green Deal policies.

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USA Also Plans to Become Carbon Neutral Like China

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

The announcement from China comes ahead of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change 2021, COP26, which was scheduled for this year but postponed due to COVID-19.

The conference is expected to result in more ambitious climate actions from global governments to keep global warming below 2C. Reducing emissions in global supply chains, industrial sectors, and promising to achieve carbon neutrality has become an important trend in the last two years amid growing public pressure to reduce emissions.

Oil and Gas Industry Leaders Invest in Renewable Energy

Only this year, we have seen many major oil and gas companies, such as Shell, BP, and Equinor, announce their energy transition goals with a significant shift toward investments in renewable energy.

The transportation sector is also witnessing a shift toward investments in renewable energy such as hydrogen or offshore wind, the most recent example being Scorpio Bulkers revealing plans to build a massive wind turbine installation vessel while divesting its bulk carrier fleet.

A Major Change in Policy Implementation Is Required

Beijing’s promise will require a rapid and massive change in the formulation and implementation of policies to meet the carbon neutrality goal for 2060. But, if anyone can do it at this pace, it is China, as its track record has shown!

In other words, China has become a manufacturing powerhouse for clean technology and a global leader in renewable energy, resulting in a sudden surge of investments to support solar and wind projects in the last five years.

On one hand, China is busy making strides in the offshore wind energy domain, as it is expected to surpass the burgeoning offshore industry of the UK.