NZ maritime union backs zero-emissions shipping campaign 

The Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) is backing a global worker-led campaign to reduce emissions in the shipping industry to net zero by 2050.

The union is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) which is attending COP26 in Glasgow to promote sustainable shipping and a “just transition” to a post-carbon economy.

There are more than 50,000 cargo ships on the world’s oceans, the majority of which run on low-grade, heavy bunker fuel.

MUNZ national secretary Craig Harrison says new technologies have the potential to massively reduce pollution and emissions.

“As a geographically remote, maritime trading nation, New Zealand needs to be in the forefront of innovation and socially responsible change in maritime transport.”

He says even with current technology, domestic coastal shipping is the most low impact freight mode available within New Zealand.

The union is working with government and industry to build New Zealand’s coastal shipping capability, Harrison says.

He says a greater role for domestic coastal shipping is essential to reduce emissions, and to build New Zealand’s resilience to worsening congestion in global supply chains.

The ITF is promoting eight ‘fundamental principles for a just transition’ to make sure the decarbonisation of the industry includes workers’ voices, as the industry tests alternative fuels, redesigns skills and career pathways, and shifts employment from fossil fuels to alternative fuel bunkering systems.

International shipping has not been explicitly included in the landmark Paris Agreement or its predecessors, which aims to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C.

To bring international shipping into line with the Paris Agreement, the ITF is calling for the industry and regulators to commit to a target of zero-carbon by 2050.

The ITF is an affiliate-led global union federation that connects nearly 700 affiliated trade unions from 150 countries representing nearly 20 million workers. 

It recently released its new position paper outlining how the shipping industry should transition to zero-carbon emissions by 2050. 

It’s calling for seafarers to have a seat at the table in developing plans for decarbonisation. 

“Huge changes are needed swiftly to switch the shipping industry away from fossil fuels. Seafarers have the passion, knowledge and ideas to help move the industry to a carbon-free future,” ITF general secretary Stephen Cotton says. 

“The decisions made by leaders over the coming weeks at COP and elsewhere will be crucial to preventing irreversible climate change. As working people, we deserve a planet that is safe to live on.”

The ITF paper points out that switching from carbon heavy bunker fuel to new energy sources such as hydrogen or ammonia has the potential for danger for workers.

It says safety must be carefully thought through and seafarers must receive adequate training. 

Changes such as the introduction of new technology “must not be used as an excuse to reduce crewing numbers on ships or to attack workers’ jobs or conditions”, it says. 

The paper says the transition could lead to more employment and is an opportunity to encourage more women and young people to take up work at sea.