UN calls on shipping industry to cut emissions

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The United Nations warned on Tuesday that carbon emissions from shipping were increasing, urging the massive industry to scrap old, polluting vessels and upgrade infrastructure to accelerate its green transition.

UNCTAD, the UN's trade and development agency, highlighted the role shipping plays in the global economy, with over 80% of all traded goods in the world moved by sea.

However, while the world is aware of the need to decrease greenhouse gas emissions to avert catastrophic climate change, the global maritime fleet recorded an increase in emissions by 4.7% between 2020 and 2021 alone, it said.

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"That number is heading in the wrong direction," UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan told reporters ahead of the launch of the agency's annual report on maritime transport.

Grynspan, a former Costa Rican vice president, also expressed concern about the average age of ships on the high seas, which is now nearly 22 years old. "Our ships pollute more as they get older," she said, stressing the need for "a whole new generation of ships... that can use the most cost-efficient fuels and can integrate seamlessly with smart digital systems."

Adapting ports 

UNCTAD urged greater investment in technical and operational improvements to reduce the industry's carbon footprint, such as switching to alternative, low- or zero-carbon fuels and optimizing operations.

However, the report released on Tuesday warned that the global economic outlook, combined with rising borrowing costs and regulatory uncertainty, would likely impede investments in new ships needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It called for a "predictable global regulatory framework for investing in decarbonisation," as well as increased support for developing countries in the energy transition. It also emphasized the urgent need to adapt ports to the impacts of climate change.

Now ports are faced with competition against green technology and will need to be able to serve green-technology ships, including providing clean fuel access and adapted maintenance, it said.

The changes come at a time when the global shipping sector has been rocked by a string of global crises. "For the last two years, the maritime industry has suffered from tremendous disruption," Grynspan said.

"Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, climate change and geopolitics have blocked ports, pushed up prices and closed entire shipping routes," she noted.

Slow growth in 2022 

According to the report released on Tuesday, global maritime trade declined 3.8% during the first pandemic year of 2020, but rebounded last year, increasing 3.2%. "Unfortunately in 2022, this recovery basically lost steam," Shamika Sirimanne, UNCTAD's technology and logistics chief, told reporters, pointing to geopolitical tensions, the slowing global economy, and the new waves of Covid-19 infections in China that shuttered factories.

The sector is expected to grow by 1.4% this year, and maritime trade is expected to grow by 2.1% per year on average from 2023 to 2027, she said.

However, the marked improvement this year, which is far lower than the long-term trend before the pandemic of a 3.3% annual growth on average in maritime trade.