
Clean Power Professionals Group
This special interest group is for professionals to connect and discuss all types of carbon-free power alternatives, including nuclear, renewable, tidal and more.
Publication
A pathway to decarbonise the shipping sector by 2050 | Irena

Urgent action is necessary to accelerate the pace of the global energy transition and the decarbonisation of the global economy. Green hydrogen-based fuels set to be the backbone for the sector’s decarbonisation.
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) Fourth GHG study 2020 reported that in 2018 global shipping energy demand accounted for nearly 11 exajoules (EJ), resulting in around 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) (international shipping and domestic navigation) and 3% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a CO2 -equivalent basis. Fossil fuels. i.e. heavy fuel oil (HFO), marine gas oil (MGO), very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and, more recently on a small scale, the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) currently provide up to 99% of the sector’s final energy demand.
International shipping enables 80-90% of global trade and comprises about 70% of global shipping energy emissions. If the international shipping sector were a country, it would be the sixth or seventh-largest CO2 emitter, comparable to Germany. Yet, international shipping emissions fall outside national GHG emission accounting frameworks.
In this context, this report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) explores the options and actions needed to progress towards a decarbonised maritime shipping sector by 2050 and seeks to identify a realistic mitigation pathway consistent with a wider societal goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C (degrees Celsius) and bringing CO2 emissions closer to net zero by mid-century.
Discussions
No discussions yet. Start a discussion below.
More Posts
Energy Transition Investment Trends 2023
The sectors covered are:
EVs’ Tough Road Ahead
As I started considering the IEEE Spectrum article used as a source for a future article, I found a lot to like. First of all, it described in detail the changes we (our societies) must make to implement Electric Vehicles, but also explored the..
Creating a Global Fuel Lifecycle Methodology
Creating a Global Fuel Lifecycle Methodology A qualitative assessment of existing methodologies and opportunities for the future
Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap, Pt. 4, Petroleum Refining
Part 5 is on Petroleum Refining. In my first review on the source document, I found that there are two adjacent sectors that are tightly connected to Petroleum Refining:
Get Published - Build a Following
The Energy Central Power Industry Network is based on one core idea - power industry professionals helping each other and advancing the industry by sharing and learning from each other.
If you have an experience or insight to share or have learned something from a conference or seminar, your peers and colleagues on Energy Central want to hear about it. It's also easy to share a link to an article you've liked or an industry resource that you think would be helpful.
Sign in to Participate