Decarbonising Marine Transport: A Better, Greener Britain

Published date23 August 2021
Subject MatterEnvironment, Transport, Environmental Law, Marine/ Shipping
Law FirmWinckworth Sherwood
AuthorAlex Dillistone and Samantha Woods

With extreme climate events becoming more frequent, there is a growing sense that urgent action is needed to combat the climate crisis. For the marine sector, the government has set out its plans in the recently published 'Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain'.

The document is intended to set out the government's commitments and the actions needed to decarbonise the entire transport system in the UK. It forms part of a wide-ranging set of policy documents aiming to set out the target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Reaching this target will mean big behavioural shifts in a short period of time, so its important to look ahead and be prepared for the changes ahead.

The marine sector

Transportation of people or freight on the water compares favourably to air transport in terms of carbon efficiency. But as the government paper points out "in 2019 UK domestic shopping emitted more greenhouse gases in total than rail and bus transport combined". And to reach the net zero target, every sector is going to have to minimize emissions. Accelerating the process of maritime decarbonisation is therefore a key element of the government's plan.

The approach has two elements:

  1. Port and harbour operators will need to decarbonise their own operations; and
  2. They will need to support the decarbonisation of their customers.

'Course to Zero'

The government intends, in 2022, to consult on a 'Course to Zero' for the industry to "explore the technical, operational and policy options available for government to accelerate decarbonisation in this sector to achieve net zero by no later than 2050 or earlier if possible". Port operators should be looking to respond in full to this consultation in order to have a say in how the industry is going to be shaped in the future.

Shore power

Building on the principle that there will be a phase-out of the sale of new non-zero emission domestic vessels, one of the governments commitments in the policy is to "consult this year on the appropriate steps to support and, if needed mandate the uptake of shore power in the UK". The principle is that enabling vessels to plug in while in port is in an important way to reduce the pollutant emissions from the sector.

However, what does that mean for ports? Where will the charging infrastructure be based? Who will manage and pay for...

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