Sustainable transport
Green Shipping
Definition
Green shipping denotes the decarbonisation of maritime transport — the shift of vessel design, fuels, and operations toward zero and near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. International shipping accounts for about 3% of global GHG emissions; the International Maritime Organization's revised GHG Strategy targets net-zero from international shipping by or around 2050, implemented through measures such as the GHG fuel-intensity standard and pricing mechanism of the IMO Net-Zero Framework.
References
Supports definition and framing.
Supports definition and framing.
Overview
What it means
Shipping cannot electrify like road transport, so green shipping is primarily a fuel transition — toward scalable zero-emission fuels such as green methanol and ammonia — plus efficiency (slow steaming, wind assistance, hull and engine optimisation) and port-side infrastructure.
The IMO framework sets declining GHG fuel intensity limits with tiered compliance pricing, creating the first global carbon-price-like mechanism for a sector.
How it is used
The term frames IMO negotiations, fleet-investment decisions, green corridor initiatives, and cargo-owner commitments to zero-emission freight.
Why it matters
Shipping moves around 80% of world trade; without green shipping there is no net-zero global economy, and without regulation the transition would not start. **Note:** Confidence Medium: a sector-transition concept without a single codified definition; anchored in IMO instruments.