MOL chief sustainability officer addresses at COP29

November 22, 2024

From left: South Pole Senior Director, Climate Policy, Finance & Carbon Markets Frederic Gagnon-Lebrun, Amazon Head of Carbon Neutralization Science & Strategy Jamey Mulligan, 1PointFive President and General Manager Steve Kelly, Carbon Engineering Director of Policy Kel Coulson, MOL CSuO Tatsuro Watanabe credit:MOL

Introducing Initiatives for Decarbonization

Mitsui O.S.K. announced that its participation in the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11-22, 2024.

In addition to MOL Chief Sustainability Officer Tatsuro Watanabe speaking at events organized by various companies and organizations, MOL endorsed the following statement and letter released in conjunction with COP29.

CSuO Watanabe spoke at the following sessions:

(1) Making clean industrial projects bankable – the need for demand-stimulation policies (November 14, sponsored by Industrial Transition Accelerator and Breakthrough Agenda)
(2) Accelerating the deployment of E-fuels and the decarbonizing of hard-to-abate sectors (November 15, sponsored by Green Power Denmark)

In the above two sessions, Watanabe explained how IMO’s medium- and long-term measures will affect the shipping industry, outlined MOL’s initiatives for decarbonization, and discussed with participants the policies and regulations that will accelerate investment in clean fuels.

November 14 discussions on stage; from left, MOL CSuO Tatsuro Watanabe, Industrial Transition Accelerator Deputy Director James Schofield, CWP Global Co-founder and Chairman Alex Hewitt

After November 15 discussions, from left: Green Power Denmark CEO Kristian Jensen, Innovation and Technology Center, IRENA Team Lead James Walker, Ørsted External Affairs Advisor Nadia Gullestrup Christensen, MOL CSuO Watanabe, IMO Head of Climate Action and Clean Air Roel Hoenders, TOPSOE Head of Global Affairs, Americas, Jessica Olson

(3) Unlocking Net-Zero: The Role of Carbon Dioxide Removals (November 15, sponsored by NextGen)
In the above session, MOL CSuO Watanabe explained the significance of working on CDR (Carbon Dioxide Removal) in the shipping industry and from the perspective of a Japanese company.

MOL CSuO Watanabe delivered a speech on future global warming countermeasures at the “TIME 100 Impact Dinner” hosted by TIME magazine, a leading U.S. news publication, that brought together organizations and corporations from around the world gathered. Watanabe emphasized the importance of working through partnerships with a wide range of industries to decarbonize the shipping industry

MOL is the only Japanese shipping company to endorse the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders COP29 Open Letter

In an open letter to COP29, led by the World Economic Forum, more than 100 CEOs and leaders call on governments to step up climate action. On MOL’s behalf, President & CEO Takeshi Hashimoto endorsed the letter, which urges countries to develop ambitious and investable Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), expand climate finance, and phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

Please click here for the full text of the letter and a list of supporting companies.

MOL signs call to action ‘Green Hydrogen and Green Shipping’

More than 50 leaders from the shipping industry, shippers, energy producers, and others signed a call to action to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission fuels at COP29. Organized by the RMI, the UN “Climate Change High-Level Champions,” the UCL Energy Institute, and the UN Foundation, the call to action reflects the strong momentum for investment in decarbonization through the introduction of zero-emission fuels.