Such is the scale of industry disruption from decarbonization that a decarbonization strategy likely is now the best business strategy for shipowners.

That was the message for the industry from Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President, and CEO in a keynote speech to open North American Shipping Week.

“Already today, it’s not enough to have a decarbonization strategy for your business. No, decarbonization is increasingly likely to be your best business strategy. This challenge requires us all to embrace the new language of shipping – which is CO₂ emissions per ton mile.

“Decarbonization of our industry represents a strategic opportunity for the entire industry, a structural realignment of historic proportions where the entire ecosystem and value chain is being shaken up. Over the next three decades, the International Energy Agency estimates there will be well over $100 trillion total in clean energy investment. Against that backdrop, it is clear that a failure to adapt and grasp the nettle of decarbonization is the surest guarantee of obsolescence,” said Wiernicki.

In a wide-ranging speech, he called for governments to play their role in supporting the industry to meet its decarbonization objectives.

“Reaching the decarbonization target for 2050 is currently a challenge where we can only see the outline of a solution. As we highlighted in our third low-carbon shipping outlook, our industry cannot reach the decarbonization targets alone. While 2030 may be within operational reach, 2050 will require a solution played out across the entire value chain. And this is where we need governments to step in with policies to accelerate development of low-carbon solutions and secure the proper infrastructure for their distribution.

“Just securing the required quantities of zero-carbon fuels to power our industry’s transition will require scaling up the global renewable energy sources by a factor of 10.

Incentivizing early movers and creating the framework for carbon neutral fuels will require focused policy making.s