Nine Organisations Commit to Book and Claim Systems
Nine companies across the maritime value chain have issued a joint statement expressing their commitment to developing and implementing robust book and claim chain of custody systems to accelerate the early phases of shipping’s decarbonisation.
The signatories of the joint statement – Aspen Shipping Decarbonization Initiative, DHL Global Forwarding, Hapag Lloyd, Kuehne + Nagel, Norden, Oldendorff Carriers, ONE, Torvald Klaveness, and Yara Clean Ammonia –belong to the Getting to Zero coalition, which has been exploring book and claim chain of custody approaches as part of its mission to fully decarbonise the shipping industry.
In a book and claim system, the environmental benefits of zero- and near zero-emission fuels are tracked and transferred across the maritime value chain. One party can purchase, or “book”, a specific quantity of zero- or near zero-emission fuel and then “claim” the environmental benefits of it even though the fuel is physically used by another shipper in a different location.
By activating early demand from shippers and cargo owners, these systems can help shipowners and fuel providers develop a business case for decarbonisation even while preferred fuel pathways are still being determined.
The joint statement sets out actions the signatories will undertake to ensure that book and claim chain of custody systems succeed, including working together to agree on the use of clear and consistent rules wherever possible and maintaining the highest standards of environmental, social and commercial integrity. It also calls on non-industry actors like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative to recognise book and claim approaches as credible emissions reductions.
To avoid conflicts between the IMO regulations and book and claim systems, the signatories argue that the IMO must adopt a full life cycle, or well-to-wake, accounting of greenhouse gases. The statement calls on the IMO, whose Marine Environment Protection Committee is meeting this week, to implement well-to-wake accounting in its own policy measures for decarbonisation.