Speaking during the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit, Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and CEO, said that government support is crucial for maritime to deal with “decade of change.”
As Mr. Wiernicki explained, the world has entered “the early innings of a decade, maybe several decades, of change marked by the clean energy transition, digitalization, post-covid build back and of course, geopolitics.”
All driven by a new family of global shipping shapers and all addressing a new language of shipping, which is dollars per CO2 emissions per ton mile. This has been marked by a new set of boundary conditions, timelines, and commercial relationships
According to the ABS CEO, the challenge of EEXI and CII is real, as around 80% of the global trading fleet will have to make technical upgrades to meet the minimum energy efficiency standards within EEXI.
However, he noted that “while EEXI is a one-time hurdle for vessels to clear, then you start moving down the carbon intensity trajectory, which represents a powerful new industry dynamic.”
I think it all points to the need for government support. Industry really needs some help here. This is a ‘We game’. It’s not a shipping company game
He also said that higher fuel prices should advance industry and government to accelerate development of the value chains to enable deployment of net zero technologies at scale.
In fact, higher energy prices are as much a disruptor as a potential catalyst and accelerator going forward.
We need this to catch the attention of governments in order that they can provide the infrastructure to support development of the hydrogen and carbon value chains that are going to be so important for a net-zero future
