Monday 15 July 2019

UK’s new ships could have to be zero emission by 2025

The UK's new ships could have to be zero emission by 2025.

That's if the Department for Transport and Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani have their way - they have set out a series of ambitious plans to cut pollution from the country’s maritime sector.

The plan forms part of the government’s Clean Air Strategy, which aims to cut down air pollution across all sectors to protect public health and the environment and will also help to reach the recently implemented 2050 net zero greenhouse gas target.

It suggests all new ships built from 2025 onwards should be required to include zero-emission capable technologies and notes it is looking at ways to incentivise the transition to clean shipping, with a related consultation planned for next year - the plan also includes a £1 million competition to find innovative ways to reduce maritime emissions.

The government notes the maritime sector "has already taken significant strides to reduce emissions" but urges it to go further, both in terms of ports cleaning up their own operations and for the ships themselves to increasingly adopt low carbon fuels and propulsion technologies.

It says the economic benefits of cutting marine emissions could reach as high as £710 million per year by the middle of the century and adds by 2025, clean maritime clusters focused on innovation and infrastructure should be being built around the UK to enable this.

Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani said: "Our maritime sector is vital to the success of the UK’s economy, but it must do everything it can to reduce emissions, improve air quality and tackle climate change.

"The clean maritime plan sets an ambitious vision for the sector and opens up exciting opportunities for innovation. It will help make the UK a global hub for new green technologies in the maritime sector."