U.S. Announcements and updates under the Green Shipping Challenge at COP28

Fact Sheet

December 1, 2023

U.S. Announcements and updates under the Green Shipping Challenge at COP28

Greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping sector are significant and rising. On their current trajectory, these emissions would be incompatible with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.  If shipping were a country, the sector would rank among the top 10 largest emitters globally.

To help place the shipping sector on a pathway to align with the goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, the United States and Norway organized the Green Shipping Challenge. The Challenge encourages governments, ports, and companies to prepare commitments to spur the transition to green shipping.

On December 1, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry co-hosted a new round of over 50 new or updated announcements under the Green Shipping Challenge during the World Climate Action Summit of COP28; this year’s event was also co-hosted by Denmark and France. Further information on international announcements under the Challenge is in the Joint Summary of the Green Shipping Challenge. This second round builds on the successful launch of the Green Shipping Challenge at COP 27, which featured over 40 announcements.

The United States continues to lead the transition to zero-emission shipping as part of our commitment to tackle the climate crisis at home and internationally, and continues to develop and expand the workstreams announced at COP 27 under the Challenge:

Facilitating U.S. Green Shipping Corridors

  • The United States and the Republic of Korea announced the next steps in our collaboration on green shipping corridors. With the support of the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of State, the U.S. Northwest Seaport Alliance (Ports of Seattle and Tacoma), the Port of Everett, and the Republic of Korea Ports of Busan, Ulsan, and Masan conducted the Pre-Feasibility Study evaluating cargo flows, renewable fuel availability, vessel types, and applicable policy for the establishment of a Green Corridor between the Republic of Korea and the United States.  Just before COP28, the U.S. and Korea working groups came together to present these potential green shipping corridors to relevant stakeholders during a Consortium Incubation Workshop to assess which of these routes attracted the most attention from industry partners willing to move beyond a study on paper to action at sea.
  • Since its announcement at COP27, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Transport Canada, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (U.S.), and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (Canada) launched the Network by hosting a Collaborative Forum amongst Great Lakes Seaway stakeholders.  The Forum spurred the establishment of two workstreams (Performance & Alternative Fuels), which provide stakeholder ports, carriers, shippers, and environmental groups a mechanism to collaborate and exchange information.  The organizing agencies expect to frame a workplan in 2024 with measurable milestones.
  • The United States and the United Kingdom announced the next steps in our collaboration, focusing on a bilateral consortium to progress the establishment of a Green Shipping Corridor between the two countries. The U.S.-UK Green Shipping Corridor Task Force intends to undertake a feasibility study to help identify the most effective and viable maritime routes to establish a green shipping corridor between our two countries.

Creating a U.S. National Action Plan

  • Early in 2023, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, a landmark strategy for cutting all greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by 2050.  Within the Blueprint, these departments and agencies aim to release a U.S. Maritime Decarbonization Action Plan early in 2024, which will identify the pathways for decarbonization of the domestic maritime sector.

Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs)

  • The Department of Energy (DOE) is investing up to $7 billion total of funding in seven Hydrogen Hubs across the United States.  Several of these projects propose to work with fuel and energy producers, bunkering companies, and ports, with various projects to demonstrate the decarbonization of port operations, drayage and maritime fueling applications.

Facilitating Green Shipping Corridors Worldwide

  • The Green Shipping Corridor Hub (GSC Hub) developed by DOE as part of the Mission Innovation: Zero-Emission Shipping Mission was launched last year.  The GSC Hub provides tools intended to help accelerate green corridor formation through partnerships, knowledge access, and better coordination.  Since its inception, the GSC Hub has been heavily utilized and is publicly tracking over 25 green shipping corridors around the world.
  • The U.S. Department of State continues to support feasibility studies with an additional $1 million, subject to Congressional notification and the completion of domestic procedures, for green shipping corridors involving developing countries and symposia to bring together country representatives and non-state actors, including ports and companies, on green shipping corridor opportunities and implementation.

Support Implementation of the IMO GHG Strategy in developing countries, in particular SIDS and LDCs

  • The United States announced a voluntary contribution of $100,000 to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Voluntary Multi-Donor Trust Fund to support the broader participation of developing countries, in particular small island developing states (SIDS) and least-developed countries (LDCs), in IMO meetings related to addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships.

Together with its partners, the United States looks forward to building on these foundational commitments to the zero-emission maritime transition.