Fossil fuels to clean energy
hydrogen. While the cost for e-fuels remains high, production would be scaled up and prices would drop. Demand could reach ‘ 7% of the EU shipping fuel mix ’ 15 by 2030 which would be a great start to reach net carbon zero emissions. However, the shipping industry has also failed to act and ‘ adopt reduction measures to set the maritime sector on a pathway compatible with the temperature goals of the Paris agreement ’ . 16 This shows there is still a long way to go before we reach an economically sustainable change. To conclude, it is very clear that there is a desperate need to switch from fossil fuels within the transport sector to a much more environmentally clean alternative. We know we need to prevent further damage to the environment, the economy, and people’s everyday lives and health. We can also see than the roots of a sustainable change for automobiles that run on fossil fuels to electric cars is taking shape and with pressure from governments, collaboration within the industry and an increase in acceptance and demand from consumer. Within the maritime industry, however, commercial shipping is still slow off the mark and is expected to ‘ represent 10% of the global GHG emissions ’ 17 by 2030. While change is happening slowly – foundations are being set for cleaner and more economically sustainable alternatives like green hydrogen – , change is not gaining similar traction in comparison to the car industry and still has a long way to go before companies start switching. Green hydrogen needs to be cheaper and produced in higher quantities in the long run, but economically sustainable change cannot be rushed for it to be sustainable, as it may have other consequences. So, to summarize, we can see that economically sustainable change is indeed possible for all sectors of transport, though some areas are further behind than others.
15 See https://www.transportenvironment.org/challenges/ships/. 16 Ibid. 17 Ibid.
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