Bureau Veritas (BV) has unveiled the results of new modelling research project, which confirmed the potential substantial cumulative impact of operational and technical efficiency measures in keeping shipping within its “carbon budget” to 2050.

The report examines possible decarbonisation pathways for the shipping industry through five distinct scenarios. Each scenario considers several parameters such as socio-economic forecasts for the evolution of demand for maritime transport, the possible speed for the uptake of green fuels and technical efficiency improvements in shipping. Using a bottom-up model that accounts for the particularities of each shipping segment and ship types, the study calculates the resulting GHG emissions for the industry as a whole, providing realistic insight into what decarbonisation could look like under different variables.