“Scientists tell us that this is the decisive decade – this is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis,” he emphasised in the opening address to the summit. He followed this up with a commitment for the US to cut carbon emissions by 50-52 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Other nations made similar commitments – Canada to limit carbon emissions by 40-45 per cent by 2030, Japan by 46 per cent by 2030 and strikingly the UK announced its intention to set into law the ambitious target of reducing emissions by 78 per cent by 2035. Furthermore, this latter target will, for the first time, include the UK’s share of international shipping and aviation emissions.
There is a lot of work to do to turn theory into practice, and while there are still key nations that have not stepped up to make commitments on carbon emissions – notably China and India – it is clear that emission reduction has metamorphosed from an illusory goal to a serious objective in today’s world.
The bandwagon of emission reduction is well and truly rolling, as is increasingly evidenced in the ports and shipping sector. Without doubt the largest volume of news received on a daily basis by Port Strategy is what can broadly be called sustainable news – steps in our sector to make the planet a cleaner and better place to live ranging across a myriad of subjects extending from low carbon shipping solutions through to measures to improve social sustainability.
Interestingly, there is also today a growing recognition of the importance of sustainability in the investor and financial markets – the right credentials in this respect can deliver benefits and conversely if there is a perception that such credentials are not in place there can be penalties.
A near pioneering move in the former respect was announced by Hapag Lloyd in late March – i.e. plans to issue a sustainability linked corporate senior note for €300 million. This note is associated with a clearly defined sustainability target; namely by 2030 the co2 intensity of Hapag-Lloyd’s liner fleet is to be reduced by 60 per cent compared with 2008, the reference year of the International Maritime Organisation. The favourable terms of the loan enable the early redemption, in-full, of an existing €300 million EUR bond – plainly a beneficial move.
The other side of the coin is highlighted in the story Adani Runs into Myanmar Quagmire on p6. Adani has been removed from S&P’s Dow Jones Sustainability Indices which feature companies that perform well environmentally and in a social context. It has also experienced some divestment by investors – both events stemming from its past association with the Myanmar Economic Corp (MEC), which the USA states is a military holding company that supports the regime that overthrew Myanmar’s civilian government.
It has to be said that in the eyes of many this action is harsh – it nevertheless highlights the growing influence of sustainability in the maritime environment including in the core areas of finance provision and investment. Sustainability now has a price tag attached.