Shell report: Decarbonising Shipping: All Hands on Deck

This study conducted by Shell in collaboration with Deloitte conveys barriers and solutions to meeting the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) emission reduction targets, based on interviews with 82 shipping leaders in senior roles, mostly CEOs and VPs. It presents a set of business strategies to collaboratively decarbonise the shipping sector.

Innovation in the sector is currently being limited by its thin margins, high capital intensity for assets of a long lifetime and its heavy dependence on energy-dense fuels. The multitude of proposed alternative fuels and the uncertainty about future fuel regulations add to the investors’ “inertia” perceived by many. Moreover, shipping emissions are less tangible to the end consumer due to less visibility compared to road and air freight, which further disincentivises high investments in cleaner shipping.

In workshops, the study participants worked out three main principles to drive changes towards decarbonisation:

1. Adopt an ecosystem perspective
2. Think big, start small, scale fast
3. Focus on behaviours and triggers

From there, they synthesised 12 solutions grouped in 3 categories, as summarised in the roadmap below. The ‘Unlock’category hereby focuses on scaling up customer demands, aligning global regulations and conducting interdisciplinary R&D. The ‘Accelerate’ category promotes further collaboration between ports, applying pressure on investors by green finance and fast developing technologies. The ‘Scale’ category then scales up fuel production and infrastructure to meet the demands. The report continues with assigning responsibilities towards these 12 solutions in terms of lead and supporting roles and enablers.

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