Around 70 members of the Getting to Zero Coalition gathered in Brussels recently to discuss how to move forward amid uncertainty.
The message from the room was clear: industry is not waiting for certainty to emerge before taking action. Companies across the maritime value chain are already investing and exploring pathways to decarbonisation while building the flexibility needed to navigate an evolving landscape.
Discussions highlighted the importance of breaking shipping’s energy transition into manageable steps, short-term flexibility and optionality, and approaching the challenge with patient perseverance.
At the same time, participants stressed that governments have a critical role to play. Delays in establishing a clear, ambitious regulatory framework at the International Maritime Organization risk slowing progress in a sector willing and able to move at scale. National governments have a key role in enabling first movers, particularly by closing the cost gap for early adopters of zero-emission fuels, for example, through green shipping corridors.
As one participant put it: “Let’s just go, go, go.”
