MPA to support carbon accounting initiative for maritime companies

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has partnered up with the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) and the Global Compact Network Singapore (GCNS) to support the development of capabilities in carbon accounting among maritime companies in Singapore.

The parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at a virtual ceremony on 24 September 2021.

Under the new agreement, the partners will:

• conduct training courses on carbon reporting, monitoring and management for local maritime companies affiliated with SSA;
• support local maritime companies in their journey to track and monitor their carbon emissions, and to recognise companies in their emissions reduction;
• develop a guide on maritime sector carbon reporting.

“SSA can contribute to the IMO 2050 decarbonisation goals by steering our members and the shipping community to undertake carbon accounting, and embrace efforts towards reducing carbon footprint. We hope this collaboration with MPA and GCNS will enable the shipping industry to do our part towards decarbonisation,” Michael Phoon, Executive Director of SSA stated.

“Decarbonisation has become a global imperative for countries and businesses alike. As a key engine of Singapore’s economy, the maritime industry has great potential to steer actions and progress on decarbonisation,” Esther Chang, Executive Director of GCNS added.

The first run of the training courses will start in the first week of October.

In addition to learning different practices in emissions management and reduction, trainees from participating companies will use the Carbon and Emissions Reporting Tool (CERT) as a starting point to measure and monitor their emissions.

CERT is designed to simplify the process of recording emissions data, according to GCNS.

The signing of the carbon accounting initiative comes two months after MPA announced its plans to launch the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) in Singapore.

The GCMD aims to collaborate with the industry to help the maritime sector reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, implement identified decarbonisation pathways and create new business opportunities.