Retailers including Amazon, Ikea, Inditex, Patagonia and Tchibo, are part of a group of nine companies pledging maritime decarbonisation, with a zero-carbon target for ocean freight of 2040.
The companies are part of the Cargo Owners for Zero Emissions Vessels, organised by the non-profit Aspen Institute, and have pledged to only purchase ocean freight services powered by scalable zero-carbon fuels by 2040.
They hope that their target pledge will inspire action in the industry. “We recognise that reaching this goal requires the shipping industry to deploy new technologies and utilise zero-carbon shipping fuels that are not yet in widespread use,” the group said in a statement. “By setting this target and signalling our dedication to decarbonise this part of our supply chains, we hope to inspire a surge in investment by ocean freight carriers and producers of zero-carbon shipping fuels.”
It said that investments should focus on solutions with the potential—either individually or in combination—to reach sufficient scale to truly decarbonise their group’s supply chains by 2040, and the entire shipping industry by 2050 at the latest.
“As we evaluate potential solutions, we should also ensure they can become economically viable through collaboration across the supply chain and with appropriate policy support.”
