A new report “Tides of Change: A Framework for Developing Just and Inclusive Maritime Green Corridors” co-created by the UN Global Compact, the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, and the Sustainable Shipping Initiative outlines the necessary considerations and actions required from companies and governments involved in establishing green shipping corridors around the world.
Transitioning away from fossil fuels must include careful effort to avoid perpetuating the injustices present in today’s global economy, and instead ensure a just and equitable transition.
Recommendations made in the report for a just and equitable transition towards net zero include:
- Ensuring green corridors leverage wider transition aims regionally/locally including improved access to clean energy, the development of decent, sustainable jobs, a diverse and inclusive workforce and capacity building but also improved air quality and preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems regionally.
- Creating decent, sustainable jobs and workforce up-skilling. In the process of establishing green corridors, stakeholders can test and demonstrate how to conduct inclusive social dialogue with affected groups.
- Advocating for strengthening institutional and regulatory frameworks that promote inclusion and protection of the most affected stakeholders.
Putting the technologies in place to produce zero emissions fuels for use in the shipping industry will require a complex and coordinated effort across multiple industries and governments. Green corridors will help create the necessary enabling environment between the private and public sector to bring such initiatives to scale.
..on the launch of the new joint report, Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact said.
We need the green corridors to not only demonstrate technical feasibility and regulatory compliance but also address the socio-economic dimensions comprehensively. The right approach can help us better understand and leverage the wider potential, nurture inclusive growth, create green, decent jobs, and enhance social dialogue for a future that honors both our planet and its people.
..CEO of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Bo Cerup Simonsen says.
Sustainable Shipping Initiative CEO Steven Jones says: “Shipping’s actions today are building the foundation for a resilient industry tomorrow. In order to do so, we need to ensure that shipping’s decarbonization is sustainable-environmentally, socially and socioeconomically. By taking concrete steps to incorporate principles of fair labor practices, community engagement, and inclusivity, green corridor consortia can play a key role in establishing a sustainable shipping sector that is decarbonized, just, and equitable.”
What are just green shipping corridors?
Green corridors demonstrate the technical and regulatory feasibility of zero emission shipping with the involvement of stakeholders across the value chain. In the course of the transition away from fossil fuels, careful effort must be made to avoid perpetuating the injustices present in today’s global economy, and instead ensure a just and equitable transition. Because they are closed systems, green corridors can also be used to better understand and leverage the potential social and socio-economic benefits associated with the transition away from fossil fuels, as well as understand and mitigate potential risks and trade-offs.
Shipping is deeply integrated in 90% of global trade flows and, therefore, a central part of the necessary systems change towards zero and near-zero emission
economies. However, the shipping industry can only truly succeed with decarbonization if the socioeconomic and broader environmental impacts are adequately understood and addressed.
Green corridors demonstrate the technical and regulatory feasibility of zero emission shipping with the involvement of stakeholders across the value chain.
However, as we navigate the transition away from fossil fuels, it is crucial to reflect on and address the existing injustices embedded in today’s global economy, such as unequal access to energy, food and water, economic disparities between the Global South and Global North, and social inequities. To that end green corridors provide an opportunity to understand and demonstrate the potential socioeconomic benefits associated with the transition away from fossil fuels, as well as understand and mitigate potential risks and trade-offs.
