Oil and gas companies will host the 9th annual Global Fossil Gas Bunkering Summit in Novotel Amsterdam City, Amsterdam, Netherlands from May 3 to 5. Ahead of the conference, the Ship It Zero campaign criticized the industry for continuing to promote the use of fossil fuels in the face of dire climate impacts felt across the world. 

The latest IPCC report on the climate crisis declared that no new fossil fuel infrastructure must be built and that some existing fossil fuel infrastructure would need to be shut down to hit the 1.5 degree Celsius target. It’s “now or never” if we are to avoid climate disaster. The report also said that we must end fossil fuel infrastructure to meet our climate goals. If LNG export industry expands as projected, it is likely to make it nearly impossible to keep temperatures under the 1.5 degree Celsius target.

QUOTES FROM SHIP IT ZERO COALITION 

“As oil and gas companies host the Global Fossil Gas Bunkering Summit in Amsterdam, we applaud Maersk, IKEA, Amazon, Patagonia and more for not investing in gas for clean ocean shipping. Evidence shows that gas ships leak methane, a dangerous global warming super pollutant that will harm our oceans, climate, and disproportionately Black, Indigenous, and Brown communities for decades to come if more LNG ships and infrastructure are built. According to the IPCC climate report, it is now or never to rapidly end human reliance on fossil fuels. Shipping companies and cargo owners must invest in the only horizon of hope for our planet: 100% zero-emissions solutions,” said Dawny’all Heydari, Ship It Zero Campaign Lead, Pacific Environment.

“Ocean cargo shipping is one of the dirtiest industries in the world. One analysis revealed that switching ships from petroleum-based distillate fuel to LNG significantly increases the climate footprint of maritime vessels. It is simply reckless and irresponsible to promote highly polluting LNG during a climate crisis,” said Kendra Ulrich, Shipping Campaigns Director and Lead of the Ship It Zero Campaign at Stand.earth. “Maersk, IKEA, Amazon, Patagonia are sailing in the right direction by rejecting fracked gas and moving toward zero-emissions, fossil-free shipping. Retailers and household brands like these have enormous power to show climate leadership and change the direction of the shipping industry by pushing back on the myth that switching from one dirty fossil fuel to another will solve the massive pollution problem for the shipping sector.” 

ABOUT SHIP IT ZERO

The Ship It Zero campaign, led by environmental advocacy organizations Stand.earth and Pacific Environment, is calling on some of the nation’s largest maritime importers — including Target, Amazon, IKEA, and Walmart — to transition to 100% zero-emissions cargo shipping vessels by 2030. This goal will ensure the shipping industry does its fair share in helping to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, the target scientists say is needed to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis. 

Media contacts: 

Gwen Dobbs, Pacific Environment, [email protected], 202-329-9295 (ET)

Virginia Cleaveland, Stand.earth, [email protected], +1 510 858 9902 (PT)