The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Port of Los Angeles (POLA), and Port of Long Beach (POLB) have completed a comprehensive baselining study.
Conducted by the American Bureau of Shipping and commissioned by C40 and the ports, the study forecasts increased green jobs, health benefits for local communities, and economic gains for the involved countries. It emphasizes the rising demand for zero and near-zero emission fuels and the advantages of decarbonizing shipping routes between the nations.
The study, presented at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28/CMP18/CMA5) in December 2023, provides a baseline of activities and energy demands for vessels operating on the corridor up to 2050.
It estimates that vessels on the corridor represent 7% of the world’s container trade and will have an annual energy demand of about 60,000 terajoules (TJ) by 2030, equivalent to two months of Singapore’s electricity generation.
Key findings:
- With the containership and tanker segments being the main drivers for the establishment of a green corridor, it appears that the majority of voyages along the corridor will include other intermediary port calls with the possibility of bunkering. For this reason, wider collaboration with such intermediary ports should be investigated for the development of sufficient alternative fuel capacity.
- The study revealed that the future fuel mix on the corridor is significantly influenced by the availability, price, and well-to-wake (WtW) emission factors of the fuels. The accurate long-term projection of prices and availability of alternative fuels poses substantial challenges. In any case, it is observed that both ammonia and methanol-based fuels will be crucial to achieving both short-term targets and long-term deep decarbonization of the shipping activity on the corridor, regardless of the decarbonization trajectory.
- The shipping demand is projected to be around 850,000 tons of methanol and 160,000 tons of ammonia annually by 2030, which could displace emissions equivalent to almost 320,000 cars annually. Transitioning to these fuels could potentially create over 700 new jobs in zero and near-zero emission fuel production by 2030.
The partnership, which also includes 20 leading ports and port cities, emphasizes data-driven decision-making and aims to enable the supply and adoption of zero and near-zero emission fuels, enhance energy efficiency through digital tools, and support the monitoring, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions.
Stakeholders convened the first in-person meeting during Singapore Maritime Week 2024 to focus on these areas and further develop green and digital solutions.
