The shipping industry is at greater risk than ever of missing its 2030 zero-emission fuel targets, according to a new report.

The latest edition of the ‘Climate action in shipping: Progress towards shipping’s 2030 breakthrough’ report tracks the sector’s advancement towards its climate target of having at least 5-10% of the fuel used in international shipping come from scalable zero-emission sources (SZEF) by 2030. This is the estimated uptake needed to meet the ambitions laid out in the 2023 International Maritime Organization (IMO) Greenhouse Gas Strategy, and ultimately, the industry’s entire 2050 net-zero goal.

The report reveals mixed progress towards that swiftly approaching target, with multiple indicators demonstrating the flow-on effects of economic and political upheaval, the crisis in Hormuz, energy security and supply chain concerns, and the regulatory uncertainty caused by the failure to adopt the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework last year.

It tracks progress across five key ‘levers’:

Technology and fuel supply: partially on track

Demand: not on track

Finance: not on track

Policy: not on track

Civil society: partially on track

“The 2030 breakthrough target was embraced by an industry that needs to start bringing tomorrow’s zero-emission fuels to market today if it is going to do its part,” said Jesse Fahnestock, director of decarbonisation at the Global Maritime Forum. “With the right policy push, accelerated industry action can still deliver on this crucial ambition. Adoption of the Net-Zero Framework at the IMO would allow that acceleration to begin in earnest.”