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At the last summit in France, global leaders signed agreements to decarbonize maritime transport and create a blue carbon market
On the 11/02th, The One Ocean Summit, the first high-level global summit dedicated to the defense of the oceans, ended. It brought together more than 40 world leaders who committed to fighting illegal fishing, decarbonizing maritime transport, reducing plastic pollution and creating a blue carbon market.
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According to the original text by Gabriel Chiappini, available on the Epbr, the event lasted 3 days in the French city of Brest and is the beginning of many international meetings about the oceans.
More than 100 nations have signed the Brest Commitment for the Oceans, which sets out resolutions for maritime transport:
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- 22 shipowners have committed to the Green Marine Europe label, which proposes a reduction in underwater noise, greenhouse gas emissions and oil spills;
- 35 actors, which have 18 world and European ports, agreed to advance the supply of electricity to anchored ships to limit the emission of pollutants;
- The European Union and the Mediterranean countries intend to ask the International Maritime Organization to create a low sulfur emissions zone in the Mediterranean from 2025.
According to Emmanuel Macron, president of France and organizer of the event, this year will be decisive. “In Brest today, we need to compromise and make firm and clear promises,” he told the other leaders.
The day before the summit, Macron publicized the growth of nuclear thermoelectricity in the country as a tactic to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
blue carbon market
At the meeting, Macron also highlighted the relevance of the oceans in carbon capture and proposed an alliance to improve the blue carbon market, with the support of Costa Rica and Colombia, and financial organizations such as Bank of America and HSBC.
The association's goal is to bring together blue carbon projects and streamline climate finance that is in line with biodiversity. “Preserving underwater vegetation is one of the concrete solutions to global warming. Today we are launching a coalition for blue carbon, to identify and finance actions in favor of our biodiversity”, explained the French president.
Coalition member Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan says, “We plan to reach out to more partners in the coming weeks. This partnership will align investors and implementers around shared principles and priorities.”
Green corridors for ships
John Kerry, climate adviser for the United States, supported the use of sustainable fuels and the development of green corridors for the decarbonization of maritime transport. “Ocean-based solutions are essential to the climate effort. We must immediately push for the decarbonization of maritime transport, for example,” he said.
“In the US, we are charting a path to establish and advance green shipping corridors, domestically and around the world. Our vision of green transport corridors will be realized through the rapid adoption of zero-emission fuels and technologies across the maritime sector,” added Kerry.
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of Egypt, which also has vigorous steps to decarbonize shipping and become a renewable energy hub, says: These efforts represent a real opportunity to reduce the volume of emissions from the shipping sector.”
Maritime transport in the European carbon market
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted that they plan to include maritime transport in Europe's carbon market, boosting decarbonization. She also stated that they intend to create a law that limits the amount of greenhouse gases and offer low-carbon energy infrastructure in ports.
According to Ursula, the objective in the Mediterranean is to combat pollution. In the Baltic and North Sea, the goal is to decarbonize shipping and electrify ports.
The highlight was the launch of the French Energy Observer project, which created a multipurpose vessel based on green hydrogen, which allows maritime transport without emissions. The ship's concept is in line with the need to renew multipurpose cargo fleets of approximately 5 gross tons, equivalent to 37% of the global fleet.
According to Matthieu Giard, member of the Executive Committee in charge of Air Liquide's hydrogen actions, liquid hydrogen will be important in the decarbonization of maritime transport: "This project opens up important perspectives by touching on the heavy transport sector, for which hydrogen is particularly relevant".
