The Maritime Just Transition Task Force founded by the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the UN Global Compact has announced that the Singapore Maritime Foundation has become its first public programme partner, according to ICS's release.
The Maritime Just Transition Task Force made the announcement at an event during Singapore Maritime Week. The Singapore Maritime Foundation will play a key role in informing the Global Industry Peer Learning Group, and will act as a contributor to the Task Force’s work including its first project on skills in maritime.
It was also announced that the Maritime Just Transition Task Force will launch a report at COP27 in November on the skills needed for a just and equitable green transition in maritime. The report will quantify the number of seafarers that will need to be trained or upskilled to handle the green fuels of the future and the findings will feed into the creation of policy development and provide clear steps for the shipping industry to take.
Established at COP26 in Glasgow, the Task Force founding members also include the UN’s shipping body, the International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organization. It brings together governments, maritime workers’ unions, and the shipping industry to pursue a fair and equitable green transition in shipping. Its purpose is to ensure that workers’ rights and developing economies’ access to zero-emission vessels and zero-carbon fuels remain at the centre of policy decisions.
Additional industry Project Partners announced at the event included: Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, MSC, Ocean Technologies Group, Ocean Network Express, PTC, and knowledge partners including the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, Ocean Conservancy, Carbon Trust and the World Maritime University. The Task Force is also supported by Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
The global shipping industry is responsible for about 3% of global GHG emissions. Reskilling and upskilling the workforce is integral to transitioning industry to a zero-emission value chain of new fuel production and distribution and building the new infrastructure to support it.