On Monday, Germany became the first country to join a Canadian initiative to develop green shipping corridors. The aim is to jointly drive forward the decarbonization of shipping.
Claudia Elif Stutz, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, signed a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding on the sidelines of a bilateral meeting in Ottawa.
“For Germany, international cooperation on the decarbonization of maritime shipping is of paramount importance. We therefore support the adoption of globally binding measures at the International Maritime Organization as well as strong global partnerships in order to achieve real progress towards a sustainable and climate-friendly maritime sector as quickly as possible. I would like to thank Canada for this initiative,” said Stutz.
In the recent past, projects for “Green Corridors” have already been set up in various places around the world, including in Europe and also with the participation of German ports such as Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven – a construct in which a specific shipping route is to become “greener”, for example through the use and provision of alternative fuels. The topic is not entirely new between the USA and China either, with corresponding announcements already made in 2022.
The signatory states of the campaign initiated by Canada reaffirm their joint intention to support international green shipping corridors between Eastern Canada (including Halifax and Montreal) and important ports in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, on which climate-neutral technologies will be used in the future. The aim is to promote voluntary partnerships along the maritime value chain and drive forward the transition to climate-friendly shipping.
The German government intends to pursue the topic of green shipping corridors with the National Action Plan for Climate-Friendly Shipping. The Ministry of Transport intends to continue to support climate-friendly shipping via the new KTF title “Climate-friendly shipping and ports”.
