Back in 2018, the Member States of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) committed themselves to reducing their emissions from shipping by 50% of 2008 levels. The goal is now 100%. Shipping is responsible for around 2 to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is roughly equivalent to the emissions currently produced in Germany.

To achieve this goal, more than 50 companies, including the world’s largest shipping company Maersk, the Shell mineral oil group, and logistics company Kühne + Nagel , joined forces to found the Getting to Zero Coalition , which aims to develop a roadmap to provide shipbuilders worldwide with a guideline for technically largely standardized zero-emission vessels by 2030. Following the founding phase of the organization in 2019 and 2020, various technical processes and supply systems are to be tested from 2021 onward, whereby it will be imperative to ensure that the new ship types can also be operated economically. The goal is for the first zero-emission vessels to go into operation in 2030.