Speaking at the International Energy Agency Clean Energy Transition Summit, the United Nations secretary-general António Guterres suggested that any bailout to the shipping industry should be in line with the Paris Agreement commitments.
Guterres highlighted that the efforts to boost the shipping industry and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic should not include coal or any other fuel which heavily impacts the environment.
He specifically said that
Coal has no place in COVID-19 recovery plans. Nations must commit to net-zero emissions by 2050 and submit more ambitious national climate plans before COP-26 next year.
He added that renewables offer three times more jobs than the fossil fuel industry.
To remind, the Paris Agreement goal to limit temperature rise to safe 1.5C levels requires almost halving emissions by 2030, something not in line at all with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) goal to ensure ships have at least a 50% reduction by 2050.
