WWF-Canada’s call to set Canada on a clear course now for a zero-emission shipping future is admirable. However, clarity in course directions and funding is far from clear.
With a coastline that borders on three oceans and a maritime trade sector that is fundamental to its economy, Canada has a large and complex shipping industry and world-class marine technology expertise. The challenges and opportunities of reducing that industry’s environmental footprint parallel those of other global marine traders. Many of the proposed options to reduce shipping’s environmental footprint are not technologically viable today for investments in deep-sea freighters that need to be made now, and the infrastructure required to service a global shift to low- or no-carbon fuel alternatives along major shipping trade lanes will need investment from more than ocean carrier companies. A recently released WWF-Canada policy brief on Canadian shipping notes that while more than 6,000 ships passed through Canadian waters in 2019, the 565 that spent most of their time in domestic service were responsible for close to 30% of Canada’s overall shipping-related CO2 emissions. So starting the zero-emissions shipping voyage at home makes sense. The good news for B.C. is that the province is out in front of a lot of green shipping technology and initiatives, whether it’s Richmond-based Corvus Energy and its maritime battery technology or BC Ferries’ proposal to electrify a third of its fleet. But no zero-emission shipping initiative is going anywhere without funding. The BC Ferries electrification plan, for example, would cost more than $1 billion, and there are no green shipping sector investment allocations detailed in either provincial or federal government 2021 budgets. Without financial commitments up and down shipping’s logistics chain and from government and consumers, the zero-emissions shipping plan for Canada or any other country will have a hard time leaving port any time soon.
