Spearheading sustainable change

And at the heart of this is the Maritime UK International Maritime Hub located at the City of Glasgow College’s Riverside campus, which during the summit will host a series of events showcasing green technology, innovation and capabilities from across the UK maritime industry.

First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, officially launched City of Glasgow College’s International Maritime Hub on Friday 29 October 2021.

She said: “The Scottish Government is committed to the decarbonisation of the transport sector in a sustainable way to deliver a just transition. By 2032, 30% of Scottish Government ferries will be low emission and low emission solutions are being widely adopted at Scottish ports.”

”We will continue to collaborate with stakeholders across the maritime industry, including Maritime UK and City of Glasgow College, to help achieve our ambitious net zero targets.”

Leading lights 

One of the events at the hub during the summit will see Mersey Maritime chief executive, Chris Shirling-Rooke, chair a discussion on how companies in the Mersey Maritime sector are leading the way on slashing carbon emissions.

This will include how Peel Ports has been successful in persuading shipping lines to bypass southern ports and call into the Mersey, significantly cutting road miles.

He said: ”COP26 is one of the most important meetings of world leaders for decades. It is absolutely critical the planet comes together to tackle the real threat posed by climate change.”

“Decarbonisation has been high on the agenda for Mersey Maritime and Maritime UK, for a long time. We will be in Scotland to demonstrate how the drive, innovation, ingenuity and collegiate approach of the maritime industry can help spearhead a low carbon future.”

COP26 is the United Nations’ 26th annual conference on climate change running from October 31 to November 12.

Its purpose is to bring together world leaders come together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.