23
Apr 21

Bulletin: A green week

Bulletin: A green week


 

Tackling climate change has been top of the political agenda this week.

Here in the UK on Tuesday the government, for the first time, announced the inclusion of shipping emissions in their next Carbon Budget, which covers the amount of greenhouse gases the country can emit between 2033 and 2037.

At the Chamber we support the UK government as they look to tackle climate change. Shipping is the most carbon-efficient way of transporting goods and is part of the solution in supporting the UK to achieve its ambitious new targets. As ever the devil is in the detail, but we look forward to getting more information on exactly how international shipping will be included in the Carbon Budget.

Yesterday was ‘Earth Day’ and in the run up to the global summit held by US President Joe Biden, his Climate Envoy John Kerry called on the IMO to guide the industry towards net zero by 2050.

We know shipping is international by nature and we firmly support international regulations and we want to see the UK government work even harder at the IMO to bring about real, lasting change.

Freeports have also been in the news this week after the International Trade Committee produced a report looking at the possible benefits but also the challenges faced by the government. We spoke to Lloyd’s List about this but our position is clear, freeports have the potential to deliver economic benefits, but the policy must be thought through and it should not just divert economic activity from other areas.

In the last 24 hours or so we have also seen the news that Singapore has decided to suspend crew changes for all seafarers with recent travel to India. This could have a knock on effect with other maritime nations likely to implement similar restrictions. We will keep a close eye on developments and will continue to work with our international partners as the situation develops.

Closer to home I was delighted to confirm this week Quadrise Fuels International as the latest organisation to join the Chamber. Quadrise is a world leading emulsion fuels and technology company and as we welcome new members the collective voice of the Chamber only gets stronger.

In the last few months we have run some excellent webinars with our members and this week we held a fascinating discussion with Waves Group on LNG. If any members would like to partner with us on upcoming events, or would like to run a webinar with us please contact Tony Jerome.

Finally this week one of our members, Ince, is releasing a charity song to spread the message of just how much seafarers have done for the world throughout the pandemic. They are recording a charity single version of “Sailing”, the song made iconic by Rod Stewart. To find out more about this and how you can get involved head to our website.

Bob