Tom Barlow-BrownBunker Holding, the only bunkering company to sign the Green Hydrogen and Green Shipping Call to Action at COP29, has underlined the importance of regulatory measures to support the green energy transition and called on the IMO to set a global fuel standard.
‘We have made the strategic choice of facilitating the green transition of the shipping sector. Given our size, we can make an impact,’ the company told ship.energy.
Bunker Holding called for stronger regulatory frameworks to ensure investment security, specifically endorsing the adoption of a global fuel standard and economic measures to bridge the cost gap between fossil fuels and zero-emission alternatives.
‘Just like everyone else in the value chain, we need investment security for the future. That is why we are putting concerted effort into the crucial work of IMO and are supporting the adoption of both an economic measure as well as a Global Fuel Standard so that that the price gap between fossil and low-carbon fuels can be narrowed down and the uptake of alternative fuels can be driven by mandate’
Organised by non-profit RMI, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, the UCL Energy Institute, and the United Nations Foundation, the call to action argues for ‘faster and bolder’ steps to increase zero and near-zero emissions fuel uptake and align with a 1.5°C pathway.
Bunker Holding noted that the transition to alternatives fuels is a ‘paradigmatic change for the whole values chain’ and they had already built a team of experts to help facilitate it.
The company stressed that the technical pathways for adopting hydrogen-derived fuels remain complex, requiring significant time and resources. They are also planning to use their expertise to partner with producers of hydrogen-derived fuels and prepare safe bunkering facilities.
The Green Hydrogen and Green Shipping Call to Action was signed by more than 50 stakeholders, including fuel producers, shipowners, and ports. It outlines key recommendations to accelerate the uptake of green hydrogen, including scaling production to five million tonnes annually by 2030 and implementing equitable policies to support the transition.
Image: Bunker Holding
Ian Taylor
