London, 25 March 2025: The UK Department for Transport today launched its much-awaited Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, an update to the 2019 Clean Maritime Plan, committing to net-zero emissions from UK shipping by 2050.

The plan aligns UK targets with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, 80% by 2040 and to zero by 2050. This commitment comes just in the wake of IMO negotiations to agree measures to reduce international shipping greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

While this is a welcome move, the strategy lacks details to target the solutions with the lowest lifecycle emissions, green hydrogen and derived fuels.

Nuala Doyle, Policy Officer at the SASHA Coalition, commented, 

The long-awaited Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy puts UK shipping back on course to cut emissions after years of neglect. The proposed fuel regulation promises to be a crucial step to cutting emissions and spearheading maritime growth, but only if it targets the right fuels.

Green hydrogen and derived e-fuels have the lowest emissions and environmental impacts, yet lack the support needed to scale production. Biofuels, on the other hand, are neither environmentally nor economically sustainable, as DfT recognised in the report. Any UK domestic maritime fuel regulation must follow the science and incentivise green hydrogen e-fuel development for the shipping industry to meet its climate targets and growth potential."

The strategy also announced expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to the domestic maritime sector. While this is an important move to advance the shipping industry’s transition, the ETS will not be extended to cover all maritime emissions.

Nuala commented,

"Expanding the UK ETS to domestic maritime emissions will create new sources of finance to help drive an equitable transition to net zero for the shipping industry, and make polluters pay fairly for their climate impacts. But to cut emissions at the pace needed requires extending the ETS to cover all emissions, including from international voyages and ships under 5,000GT.

Together with policy targeting green hydrogen solutions, this is how ensure the UK can become a leader in maritime decarbonisation."

The SASHA Coalition submitted a response to a Department for Transport consultation on the expansion of the ETS earlier this year advising it cover as many emissions as possible.

ENDS