Âéśš´ŤĂ˝

Skip to main content

Shell and Deloitte research suggests six critical actions to accelerate decarbonisation of shipping

All Hands on Deck 2.0 shows pockets of decarbonisation progress and urgency to advance transition.

London- Today, Shell and Deloitte have released All Hands on Deck 2.0, which shows some progress has been made toward decarbonisation of the marine sector. However, action and investment must increase in both size and pace to achieve the ambition of being net zero by 20501 – as shipping volumes are expected to increase in tandem with the growth of global trade.

The first edition of the report was published in 2020, identifying 12 tangible actions to decarbonise the industry. The latest publication, All Hands on Deck 2.0, includes an overview of progress across the marine sector, updates on the actions needed and assesses the prevailing views, sentiments and concerns in the sector.

With shipping businesses facing increasing pressure to decarbonise, driving a reduction in emissions in the near-to-mid-term period will be critical. Featuring research and analysis based on insights drawn from leaders2 across all segments of the shipping sector, All Hands on Deck 2.0 proposes six recommendations for shipping:

  • Scale up pockets of demand: creating clearer signals of demand through natural demand aggregation for low-carbon fuels and low-emission vessels.
  • Take a segment-specific approach: identifying common characteristics of each segment to allow for the prioritisation and tailoring of solutions, starting with first movers. 
  • Leverage local/regional regulation for momentum: driving progress as a means of advancing near-term material impact on total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the shipping sector, while anticipating that global regulation will need to quickly follow to achieve a level playing field for working towards a net-zero target.
  • Drive clarity on fuel pathways: increasing demonstration projects and investment in these would support first-mover decision making for both fuel suppliers and shipowners – and should recognise the complementarity of different pathways. 
  • Adopt an integrated view on asset improvement: recognising fleet composition is crucial in tackling the decarbonisation challenge and requires an integrated set of levers. These include efficiency measures, greater investment in dual-fuel-capable vessels, and increased modularity via retrofits – as well as sufficient newbuild and repair-yard capacity to undertake these changes. 
  • Activate the first green corridors: taking the steps to operationalise the first green corridors offers a concrete proof point that can be scaled from inter-regional impact to an eventual global one.

“Change is often the only certainty we have in the shipping industry, but the continued urgency to decarbonise is one constant that remains,” said Melissa Williams, President, Shell Marine. “All Hands on Deck 2.0 shows that action is under way. But crucially, it also shows that this action is not happening at the speed required by the energy transition, especially in areas such as infrastructure replacement and around roles and decision making. I therefore encourage organisations across the industry to carefully consider how to act next, and to reach out to a solutions provider, like Shell, who can help them overcome their decarbonisation challenges. Because, by working together, we can secure a brighter horizon for the entire shipping ecosystem.”

For more information and to download Decarbonising Shipping: All Hands on Deck 2.0, please visit www.shell.com/marine/decarbonising.

1 Throughout this report, “net zero” is used based on the definition of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which defines net zero as the state where “anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period”. The IPCC notes that its models indicate limiting global warming to 1.5C would require global achievement of net zero emissions by 2050. 

2 Research participants: 14 CEOs/senior execs/owners, 9 operational sustainability experts, 3 policy experts, 6 shipowners/operators, 4 customer organisations, 4 financiers/legal bodies, 4 port authorities/operators, 6 regulators/standards/NGOs and 2 technology providers – as well as stakeholders representing the APAC, Americas and EMEA regions.

More information

Media Enquiries

Shell Marine Global
Tel: +44 (0) 207 934 5550

About Shell Marine

With 80,000+ employees across 70+ countries, Shell works with global industries to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions by providing more and cleaner energy solutions. Shell’s target is to become a net-zero business by 2050, which supports the ambitious goal to tackle climate change laid out in the UN Paris Agreement: to limit the rise in average global temperature to 1.5° Celsius.

To help transform industries, Shell has created the Shell Sectors & Decarbonisation (S&D) business. This is comprised of teams with specific sectoral experience who support companies that operate in hard-to-abate sectors to avoid, reduce and mitigate their emissions. Shell S&D provides these customers with the products and solutions required today, while working together to meet their fast-evolving needs.

Shell Marine provides integrated solutions for the entire marine value – from ports to short-sea shipping and beyond – to identify and develop pathways and solutions that help unlock efficient operations and sustainable practices. It serves over 10,000 vessels, ranging from large ocean-going tankers to small fishing boats in over 700 ports across 62 countries. Shell’s sectoral approach allows the marine team to apply its deep industry knowledge and expertise, while working closely with customers to develop highly tailored solutions.

Cautionary note

The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Group” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as “joint ventures” and “joint operations”, respectively. “Joint ventures” and “joint operations” are collectively referred to as “joint arrangements”. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as “associates”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”, “ambition”, ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘could’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘goals’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘may’’, “milestones”, ‘‘objectives’’, ‘‘outlook’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘probably’’, ‘‘project’’, ‘‘risks’’, “schedule”, ‘‘seek’’, ‘‘should’’, ‘‘target’’, ‘‘will’’ and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this [report], including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, such as the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak; and (n) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this [report] are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc’s Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 (available at www.shell.com/investor and ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this [report] and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, Thursday, 1 June 2023. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.

Shell’s net carbon intensity
Also, in this announcement we may refer to Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity”, which includes Shell’s carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers’ carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers’ carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the term Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity” is for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.

Shell’s net-Zero Emissions Target
Shell’s operating plan, outlook and budgets are forecasted for a ten-year period and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next ten years. Accordingly, they reflect our Scope 1, Scope 2 and Net Carbon Intensity (NCI) targets over the next ten years. However, Shell’s operating plans cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target and 2035 NCI target, as these targets are currently outside our planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell’s operating plans to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target.

Forward Looking Non-GAAP measures
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures such as cash capital expenditure and divestments. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking Non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those Non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of Shell, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements.

The contents of websites referred to in this announcement do not form part of this announcement.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website

More in Shell Marine