T&E recommends mandates for UK shipping to drive uptake of zero-emission bunker fuels

Transport & Environment (T&E) released a briefing paper on Monday (31 July) to support its recommendation on the use of mandates to create a market for both the supply and use of zero-emission marine fuels and achieve the required emissions reductions for Net Zero and the UK carbon budgets. 

T&E explained UK shipping used almost 7 million tonnes of fossil marine fuel oil in 2021, and produced almost one fifth of all UK transport emissions. The government is currently considering policies to decarbonise the UK shipping sector but has yet to make any solid commitments.

At the level of the International Maritime Organization, the UK has endorsed a goal-based maritime emissions reduction pathway called the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). To meet the SBTi pathway will require large-scale use of zero-emission marine fuels and energy.

In March 2023, the UK government published assumptions for how much low-carbon shipping fuel will be required in 2035 to stay within the carbon budgets. 

T&E calculated that meeting these assumptions with a combination of zero emission renewable e-fuels and direct electrification – the most cost-effective options – would require 44TWh renewable electricity, to produce 140,000 tonnes hydrogen, 3.1 million tonnes ammonia/methanol, and nearly 2TWh shore power. 44TWh would require an additional 1,360 8MW wind turbines.

The briefing showed the energy requirements for the UK of implementing five different zero emission mandate scenarios.

Each scenario assumes fulfilment with a combination of direct electrification and green e-fuels, using 100% renewable electricity.

“Mandates are effective instruments to drive the uptake of near-zero- and zero-emission transport fuels. The UK already uses such a mandate (the development fuels sub-target) through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), whilst another for sustainable aviation fuel is being designed,” it said in the briefing paper.

“A mandate either for zero- or near-zero-emission shipping (or specifically on shipping fuels) will certainly be necessary to create a market for both the supply and use of these fuels, and achieve the required emissions reductions for Net Zero and the UK carbon budgets.”

T&E added in addition to fulfilment of any UK zero-emission shipping mandate, further abatement will be necessary for compliance with the SBTi pathway. 

“This is because, even if the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan assumptions for low-carbon marine fuel uptake for UK domestic and international shipping correlate directly to emissions reductions, a maximum of 30.5% abatement would be achieved in 2035, compared to the SBTi target of 77% reduction by the same date,” it said. 

“Additional consideration must therefore be given not only to the low-carbon fuel uptake assumptions, but also to targets and even mandates for energy efficiency technologies (to maximise their use by 2025 as envisioned in the Clean Maritime Plan) and speed reduction.”

Note: The full briefing paper of ‘Implications of an e-fuel mandate for UK shipping’ can be viewed here.

Photo credit: Chris Pagan on Unsplash
Published: 2 August, 2023