A new generation of shipping fuels is being developed to accelerate the decarbonization of the shipping sector while soil health is important for beating climate change, among the climate trends identified by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
“Green hydrogen and its derivatives, e-ethanol and e-ammonia are emerging as cornerstone solutions for maritime decarbonization,” it said in a newsletter.
These fuels align with the International Maritime Organization’s progress towards a set of binding global regulations for the industry, with a goal of net-zero shipping by or around 2050.
WEF said hydrogen and synthetic fuels could cut shipping emissions by 80 percent to 100 percent.
This, as around 80 percent of all goods are moved by ships, which results in over a billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions yearly.
This translates into 2 to 3 percent of annual global emissions, but new fuels are helping the sector clean up.
To future-proof the global energy system, the WEF’s Centre for Energy & Materials is working on initiatives including Clean Power and Electrification, Energy and Industry Transition Intelligence, Industrial Ecosystems Transformation, and Transition Enablers to encourage and enable innovative energy investments, technologies and solutions.
The Mission Possible Partnership, an initiative created by the WEF and the Energy Transitions Commission, is also working to assemble public and private partners to further the industry transition to set heavy industry and mobility sectors on the pathway towards net-zero emissions.
Further, WEF underscored the importance of soil health as roughly 95 percent of all food supply relies on healthy soils, yet nearly a third of global agricultural land is degraded.
“Improving soil health is key to enhancing plant-driven carbon sequestration, increasing crop yields and restoring the negative impact traditional intensive agriculture has had on the environment,” it said.
WEF’s recently released community paper on “Scaling Technology Adoption for Soil Health: A Focus on Africa” proposes five recommendations with the greatest potential impact on food security, yield and soil health.
These include enhancing agricultural extension services, digitalizing agriculture, applying climate-smart agriculture, reversing fertility decline, and research and developing other high-quality inputs.
