UN: Decarbonising transportation key to achieving net zero emission by 2050

Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, says modes of transportation need to be decarbonised to align with the global target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. 

Guterres said this on Thursday while speaking at the Global Sustainable Transport Conference in Beijing, China.

He called for international shipping and aviation targets to be strengthened in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C.

“Climate goals set at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which sit under the UN umbrella, are consistent with more than 3C of global warming,” he said.

“Transport, which accounts for more than one quarter of global greenhouse gases, is key to getting on track. We must decarbonize all means of transport, in order to get to net-zero emissions by 2050.

“Let’s be honest. While member states have made some initial steps through the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization to address emissions from shipping and aviation, current commitments are not aligned with the 1.5-degree goal of the Paris Agreement. In fact, they are more consistent with warming way above 3 degrees”.

Guterres called for the phasing out of vehicles powered by petrol and diesel between 2035 and 2040.

He said the projection is for shipping to have zero emissions by 2050 and for aviation’s emissions per passenger to reduce 65 percent by 2050.

“Zero emission ships must be the default choice, and commercially available for all by 2030, in order to achieve zero emissions in the shipping sector by 2050.”