Nine key players across the maritime value chain have issued a joint statement expressing their commitment to developing and implementing robust book and claim chain of custody systems to accelerate the early phases of shipping’s decarbonisation.
The signatories of the joint statement – Aspen Shipping Decarbonization Initiative, DHL Global Forwarding, Hapag Lloyd, Kuehne + Nagel, NORDEN, Oldendorff Carriers, ONE, Torvald Klaveness, and Yara Clean Ammonia – represent key parts of the value chain for decarbonised shipping. The companies belong to the Getting to Zero coalition, which has been exploring book and claim chain of custody approaches as part of its mission to fully decarbonise the shipping industry.
Book and claim chain of custody systems allow the emission profile of a zero- and near zero-emission fuel¹ to be separated from the physical flow of that fuel in a transportation supply chain. These systems can enable early action, even when zero- and near-zero emission fuels and vessels are in limited supply, by separating decarbonisation from the physical transportation of an organisation’s cargo. In a book and claim system, the environmental benefits of zero- and near zero-emission fuels are tracked and transferred across the maritime value chain. One party can purchase, or “book”, a specific quantity of zero- or near zero-emission fuel and then “claim” the environmental benefits of it even though the fuel is physically used by another shipper in a different location. By activating early demand from shippers and cargo owners, these systems can help shipowners and fuel providers develop a business case for decarbonisation even while preferred fuel pathways are still being determined.
The joint statement sets out actions the signatories will undertake to ensure that book and claim chain of custody systems succeed. The actions the nine signing companies commit to include working together to agree on the use of clear and consistent rules wherever possible and maintaining the highest standards of environmental, social and commercial integrity. It also calls on non-industry actors like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative to recognise book and claim approaches as credible emissions reductions.
In order to avoid conflicts between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and book and claim systems, the signatories argue that the IMO must adopt a full life cycle, or well-to-wake, accounting of greenhouse gases. The statement calls on the IMO, whose Marine Environment Protection Committee is meeting this week, to implement well-to-wake accounting in its own policy measures for decarbonisation.
Through this joint statement, the companies commit to working in close collaboration to address the challenges to be addressed to effectively implement book and claim.
“Book and claim systems are going to be essential tools for getting decarbonisation of shipping moving, but they remain poorly understood, and their development risks getting bogged down in confusion and suspicion,” says Jesse Fahnestock, Project Director at Global Maritime Forum. “With this statement, some of the most important companies in international shipping are committing to making book and claim systems transparent, well-aligned and environmentally credible for their customers and stakeholders. And they’re calling on other key players, like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, to create a pathway for acceptance. It can’t happen soon enough.”
For an overview of book and claim chain of custody systems as a mechanism to accelerate maritime decarbonisation through the early transition to zero-emission fuels in shipping, please see this insight brief published by the Getting to Zero Coalition earlier this year.
For questions or further information, please reach out to the Global Maritime Forum’s Head of Communications, Rasmus Nord Jørgensen, at rnj@globalmaritimeforum.org
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 Forum is funded through a combination of grants and partner contributions but 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 Getting to Zero Coalition is a powerful alliance of more than 200 organisations (including over 180 private companies) within the maritime, energy, infrastructure, and finance sectors. The Coalition is committed to getting commercially viable zero-emission vessels powered by zero-emission fuels into operation by 2030. Hitting this milestone is essential if we are to achieve maritime shipping’s moon-shot ambition of full decarbonisation by 2050.