Germany drafts action plan to promote climate-friendly shipping

In an effort to boost climate-neutrality in the shipping industry, the German government is bringing together representatives of the maritime sector, science, industrial and environmental associations and federal and state leaders to draft a National Action Plan for Climate-Friendly Shipping (NAPS). The action plan is to include a roadmap for the market ramp-up of climate-friendly marine propulsion systems and fuels, and to bundle and further develop funding programmes. “Making shipping climate-neutral is an enormous challenge given the available technologies and energy sources,” transport minister Volker Wissing said. “But it is also a great industrial policy opportunity that needs to be exploited.” Economy minister Robert Habeck added: “The maritime economy plays a central role on the path to climate-friendly shipping of the future - for climate-friendly drives and fuels and for the energy transition in general, especially in offshore wind power.”

A multi-stakeholder conference in Berlin today (28 May) is meant to kickstart the process, and the government intends to finalise the plan in the first half of 2025, said a government background paper. The NAPS will deal with issues such as alternative propulsion and energy systems, the supply of climate-friendly energy sources, fleet modernisation, maritime industrial policy and green shipping corridors, said the government.

The action plan is part of the government's Climate Action Programme 2023 to put the country on track to reaching its climate targets. The federal government says it is using the NAPS to support the sector on its transformation path while also strengthening its competitiveness and innovation competence. German chancellor Olaf Scholz last year unveiled plans to strengthen the country’s ports, stating that more funding was needed for facilities on both the North and Baltic Sea coasts.