Amazon.com, IKEA to switch to zero-emission shipping by 2040

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Amazon.com, IKEA to switch to zero-emission shipping by 2040

LONDON, Oct 19 Reuters - Amazon.com Inc and IKEA are among the commercial shipping companies that opt for zero-carbon marine fuels by 2040 in a new initiative aimed at speeding up decarbonisation in the maritime sector, executives said on Tuesday.

With about 90% of the world’s trans-shipment transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the CO2 emissions in the world and the sector is under growing scrutiny to become cleaner.

The initiative, organised by the non-profit Aspen Institute and has nine signatories so far including others such as Unilever and Michelin, sets a goal for companies to only purchase ocean freight services powered by zero fuels by 2040.

The time to act is now, says Edgar Blanco, director of net-zero carbon at Amazon.

Elisabeth Munck af Rosensch ld, sustainability manager, supply chain operations at Inter IKEA Group, said it was crucial working with others in developing ocean shipping fuel solutions.

The voice of the cargo owners is important since we are one of the stakeholders to enable the transformation in the industry, she told Reuters.

We are not willing to automatically pay a premium for sustainability, but we are willing to collaborate and share the necessary solutions and share the required investments. A surge in demand for retail goods while people have been stuck at home due to lockdowns has led to record high container shipping rates in recent months, compounded by port disruptions which has also led to higher costs for cargo users.

Michelle Grose, Head of Logistics at Unilever, said logistics accounted for 15% of the group's total GHG emissions footprint and Unilever was encouraging our existing carriers to switch to cleaner fuels. By signalling our joint commitment to zero-emission shipping, we are confident that we will accelerate the transition at the pace and scale that is needed Environmental groups in the Ship It Zero Coalition said the announced commitments were weak but too historic and urged the signatories to switch entirely to zero-emission ships by 2030.

If major consumer brands really want to do their fair share of climate change, they need to be on course correction now, not 19 years from now, said Kendra Ulrich for the environmental group Stand.earth, a member of Ship It Zero.

Green Coalition Ship It Zero calls for big shipping companies to achieve zero-emissions by 2030.

The United Nations aims to reduce the industry's GHG by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050. Building calls for greater decarbonisation target in 2050 are growing.

A 50% reduction will require the rapid development of low emission fuels and new designs for ships.