Hapag-Lloyd, NABU: No place for ‘unsustainable’ biofuels in shipping’s future fuel mix

German container shipping major Hapag-Lloyd, compatriot environmental association NABU and a number of other companies have jointly called on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to remove ‘unsustainable’ biofuels from its list of alternative fuels.

The IMO has agreed on ambitious targets to get shipping to zero around 2050, however, it has yet to specify how. National delegates will be in London this week to debate new regulatory measures for decarbonizing the shipping industry.

“Biofuels are a fatal mistake that must be stopped as soon as possible. Fuels from the fields will not stop the climate crisis but will exacerbate the biodiversity crisis,” Daniel Rieger, NABU Head of Climate and Environmental Policy, pointed out.

“So-called biofuels compete with food production and take up huge areas, which often results in the destruction of intact ecosystems. As a rule, these are not only particularly species-rich habitats, but also gigantic CO2 stores such as tropical rainforests, which fall victim to land consumption. This completely ruins the supposedly positive climate balance of biofuels and turns it into its opposite.”

Hapag-Lloyd shares the same stance on biofuels in shipping. That is why Hapag-Lloyd, together with Norway’s Hurtigruten, Höegh Autoliners, and other companies and NGOs, has submitted a letter to the IMO, warning of the dangers.

“We at Hapag-Lloyd agree with environmental NGOs not to use biofuels made from agricultural raw materials. Decarbonization is a shared goal and it must be based on thorough life cycle assessments while protecting biodiversity and ensuring food security. Incentives for decarbonization should focus on scalable, sustainable solutions that support both people and the planet, rather than those that harm ecosystems or local communities,” Arne Maibohm, Director of Decarbonization at Hapag-Lloyd, highlighted.

Without clear fuel criteria, the new measures could lead to palm oil, for example, becoming the cheapest fuel to meet the new emissions standards. Many European countries and the EU have already restricted the use of biofuels, such as those made from palm oil and soy, including those used in shipping. However, such restrictions are not yet in sight at the global level. As a result, significant quantities of these ‘problematic’ fuels are also burned in ship engines – often with the best intentions.

“In our joint letter, we call on the IMO to exclude fuels made from cultivated biomass from economic incentive systems. Instead, these mechanisms must be geared towards helping truly sustainable solutions to break through. Instead of creating new problems, the global shipping community must focus on truly green fuels based on hydrogen,” Sönke Diesener, NABU shipping expert, commented.

T&E: Palm and soy biofuels are ‘devastating’ for climate

Nearly a third of global shipping could run on biofuels in 2030, new Transport & Environment (T&E) analysis shows, up from less than 1% today. Under the current draft of the IMO’s green fuels law, this could actually exacerbate climate change and put pressure on global food supplies, T&E, the European umbrella for non-governmental organizations promoting sustainable transport in Europe, explained.

The study by Cerulogy on behalf of T&E shows that palm and soy oil would likely make up nearly two-thirds of the biodiesel used to power the shipping industry in 2030 as they represent the cheapest fuels to comply. This poses a serious climate problem, warns T&E, as palm and soy are responsible for two to three times more carbon emissions than even the dirtiest shipping fuels today, once deforestation and land clearance are taken into account.

The use of palm oil biofuels doubled in the EU between 2010 and 2020, following the introduction of a law promoting biofuels in cars. Using crop land for fuel also puts pressure on biodiversity and food supplies, T&E said.

“As things stand the IMO risks doing more harm than good. Palm and soy biofuels are devastating for the climate and they take up vast amounts of land. Instead of creating new problems, the global shipping community must focus on green fuels made from hydrogen. Burning crops is never the answer,” Constance Dijkstra, shipping manager at T&E, stated.

Shipping companies like MSC and CMA CGM have invested in so-called waste biofuels like used cooking oil (UCO) and animal fats. But waste biofuels will likely be able to cover just a small proportion of shipping’s projected biofuels demand as their availability is limited.

Countries such as France, Norway, and the Netherlands have already restricted or stopped using palm and soy biofuels domestically, while the EU itself has excluded the use of food crops from its flagship shipping fuels regulation (FuelEU).

However, at the global level, no such restrictions are proposed. The letter calls for the IMO to exclude crop-based biofuels from regulatory compliance and ensure that crop-based biofuels do not benefit from economic incentives directed towards promoting zero and near-zero emission fuels.

As per T&E, a clear definition of what constitutes a ‘zero’ and ‘near zero’ emission fuel is needed. This would exclude deforestation-linked biofuels, cap food-based biofuels and incentivize green e-fuels made from green hydrogen.

• 69 NGOs urge IMO to exclude biofuels from Global Fuel Standard