Today, in collaboration with the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the Global Maritime Forum published 'Defining Additionality in the Voluntary Book-and-Claim Market in Deep-Sea Shipping.'
This position paper proposes a unified approach to "additionality" in the deep-sea shipping sector, focusing on enhancing consistency and upholding integrity within the book-and-claim market. Book and claim is a system that allows emissions reductions or sustainable actions, such as using low-carbon fuels, to be credited and tracked within the same value-chain even if they occur separately from where the fuel is consumed. By establishing a shared interpretation of additionality aligned with shipping regulations, this paper aims to create a level playing field among market actors—including registries, issuers, buyers, and verifiers—while recognising that criteria for additionality may differ as the market evolves.
"Building confidence in the voluntary markets for maritime decarbonisation means promoting convergence between buyers and sellers about what actions go beyond compliance. We hope this paper provides common sense guidance that can help the voluntary market grow while maintaining credibility," said Jesse Fahnestock, director of decarbonisation.
Read the report here.
The Global Maritime Forum is an international not-for-profit organisation committed to shaping the future of global seaborne trade. It works by bringing together visionary leaders and experts who, through collaboration and collective action, strive to increase sustainable long-term economic development and human well-being.
Established in 2017, the Global Maritime Forum is funded through a combination of grants and partner contributions. It operates independently of any outside influence and does not support individual technologies or companies. Most of its roughly 45-person staff is based in the organisation's headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) is an independent, not-for-profit research and development center established in 2020 with funding from the A.P. Moller Foundation. Our purpose is to guide and accelerate decarbonization of the global maritime industry.
This complex challenge requires unprecedented collaboration across sectors, industries, and geographies. Working with our partners, governments, authorities, public sector bodies, scientists, and organizations across the global maritime industry we aim to inform, de-risk decision-making, and spark real climate action.
We are technology agnostic and have no vested interest in specific decarbonization solutions. We explore free of commercial considerations and independent of partner strategies. As a result, we deliver independent analyses of how the transition is progressing and clear, data-driven recommendations for accelerating maritime decarbonization. On top we are maturing solutions to the most pressing problems across the maritime value chain, from fuels to onboard solutions, regulations, and financing.
Strategic Partners to the Center include: Alfa Laval, American Bureau of Shipping, A.P. Moller - Maersk, bp, Cargill, CF Industries, Equinor, DP World, Hapag-Lloyd, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsui, NORDEN, NYK Line, Rio Tinto, Royal Caribbean Group, Seaspan Corporation, Siemens Energy, Stolt Tankers, Sumitomo Corporation, Swire Group, TOPSOE, TotalEnergies and V.
For more information, please visit www.zerocarbonshipping.com.