04
Jul 23

Chamber Takes Net Zero Message to Westminster

This week the Chamber held its first-ever Westminster Parliamentary reception.

The event, kindly sponsored by former maritime minister Robert Courts MP, was attended by over 130 representatives from the shipping sector as well as a range of MPs from across the UK, including shadow maritime minister Mike Kane, chair of the Transport Select Committee Iain Stewart and business and trade minister Nus Ghani. The reception also heard a keynote address from maritime minister Baroness Vere.

Over 25 cadets and apprentices from across the shipping sector also attended the event to discuss with MPs and others their hopes and aspirations for their careers and the wider sector. 

Baroness Vere and cadets

Commenting on the reception, the UK Chamber of Shipping’s Director of Communications, Tom Bartošák-Harlow, said:

“We are approaching a crucial moment for setting the decarbonisation pathway for shipping, which must be net zero by 2050. Our reception was an excellent opportunity for shipping companies to speak directly to decision-makers about what they need so they can continue to provide vital lifeline services, help ensure we have stable, secure supply chains, and help people go on holiday while at the same time reducing our carbon footprint.

“Thank you to everyone who attended, especially the cadets and apprentices who took time out from their studies to attend and made the event such a success”. 

The event also saw the launch of the Chamber’s priorities for the Refreshed Clean Maritime Plan, due to be published later this year. The refreshed plan is a chance to provide a route map to net zero for the sector and help set international standards while ensuring shipping continues to be at the heart of the UK economy, where it supports 100,000s of jobs and billions of pounds of investment. This means:

  • Prioritising a national, port-by-port, review of required infrastructure.
  • Helping unlock private investment with government funding to back up the welcome ambitions of the plan.
  • Recycling funds raised from shipping via the Domestic Emission Trading Scheme into the sector.

You can read more information on these priorities by downloading the document below: