CLIA commits to net-zero 2050 target

CRUISE Lines International Association (CLIA) Global Chief Executive Officer Kelly Craighead has confirmed the body’s oceangoing members have committed to pursuing “net-zero carbon cruising by 2050”.

Speaking at a conference in Miami overnight, Craighead said the environmental commitment would also see all ships calling at ports where shoreside electricity is available will be equipped to utilise the shore power, allowing engines to be switched off, and effectively eliminating carbon emissions while in port.

Where shoreside power is not available, the ships will use alternative low carbon technologies used by ports.

“The industry is acting now for the future,” she said.

“We are reducing the carbon footprint of our ships while at berth and at sea investing in advanced environmental technologies and partnering with cities and ports on sustainable destination management.

“By equipping cruise ships with the ability to connect shoreside power and using it where available, the cruise industry is prepared to eliminate emissions while at port for the benefit of local communities... this is responsible tourism in action,” Craighead said.

CLIA will also join the Global Maritime Forum Call to Action for Shipping Decarbonisation, which aims to make zero emission vessels and fuels the default choice by 2030.

CLIA Chair Pierfrancesco Vago from MSC said “the cruise industry has an extraordinary ability to innovate, and we want to channel our collective expertise and commitment to help find solutions as an active partner in the effort to decarbonise shipping.

“We continue to set ambitious carbon reduction goals as an industry, and cruise lines are showing the way by partnering with fuel suppliers, shipyards, technology manufacturers and academic institutions to develop new lower carbon fuel sources,” Vago added.