Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the paper by the Tyndall Centre at the University of Manchester entitled Decarbonising Shipping, published in June 2022, if he will make it his policy to set interim 2030 targets for its (a) domestic and (b) international shipping emissions.

The Department for Transport has committed to publishing a consultation on the ‘Course to Zero’ for the domestic maritime sector. This consultation will seek views and evidence on the optimal pathway to net zero emissions in 2050, including where there is scope to accelerate decarbonisation across various domestic maritime sub-sectors. Following the outcome of this consultation, we will establish indicative decarbonisation targets for the domestic maritime sector, from 2030 onwards.

Internationally, the UK is committed to acting through the International Maritime Organization’s Initial Strategy on Reduction of Green House Gas Emissions from ships, which includes a target of at least a 40% improvement in carbon intensity of ships by 2030. The UK continues to have a leading role at the IMO, building consensus to raise the ambition of the Initial GHG Strategy ahead of its revision in 2023 and to ensure it, and any interim targets, are consistent with a 1.5°C degree pathway.