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Maersk CEO demands end date for fossil fuel use in shipping
Søren Skou, CEO of the world’s biggest container shipping company Maersk, has called on the UN maritime body to determine the end date for the use of fossil fuels in the shipping industry.
Søren Skou, CEO of Maersk. Photo by Maersk
In July 2021, the European Commission published its proposal for a regulation that aims to end the production of combustion engine cars in 2035. The regulation would support the EU’s transition to zero-emission mobility and support the uptake of electric vehicles. Skou believes that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) should follow suit and set a phase-out date for fossil-fuelled ships with similar ambitious targets and measures to decarbonise the shipping sector. “Combined,
a global carbon tax and an end date for fossil-fuelled ships would be a strong signal to the shipping ecosystem - including yards and fuel producers about which way the wind is blowing,” Maersk CEO pointed out. Carbon tax According to Skou, a global “drop dead date” would address future newbuilt vessels, complementing the impact on existing ships from the carbon tax. Earlier this year, Maersk proposed a carbon tax on ship fuel of at least $450 per ton of fuel as a way for the maritime sector
to bridge the gap between fossil fuels and more expensive green fuels. The container shipping giant stressed that governments and regulators are those who need to secure production and availability of carbon-neutral fuels for the shipping sector. Without imposing the global carbon pricing measure, the UN maritime agency would have a hard time pushing alternative, zero-carbon fuels into the market. “We need to accelerate efforts to meet global emission reduction targets. As the price gap narrows, the
