The U.K. government is considering to include the shipping industry in its new carbon market, as a way to cut transport pollution by 2050.
During an interview of the Maritime Minister Robert Courts in Bloomberg, he said the U.K. may follow the EU’s proposal to include shipping in its Emissions Trading System. Britain has developed its own emissions market, after Brexit.
Mr. Courts added that the UK wants to work with international partners, and collaboration and co-operation is key to progress in this sphere.
This development comes as the UK also launched a 20 million-pound fund to help shipbuilders design a new generation of ”green” vessels.
The fund aims to ensure that all vessels for U.K. waters ordered from 2025 will come with zero-emission-capable technologies.
Additionally, Mr. Courts said the fund will not discriminate between different types of technology, such as ammonia, hydrogen fuel cells, electric batteries or biofuels.
However, Bloomberg said that the funding is just a small fraction of the investment that will be necessary to eliminate pollution from the shipping industry. In fact, the independent Climate Change Committee estimates that zero carbon shipping would require spending of 160 million pounds a year in 2035, increasing to 350 million pounds a year by mid century.
