Shipping industry promises ‘net-zero’

BERLIN – A major shipping industry group said Tuesday that its members will aim for “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050, following a commitment to the same goal by the world’s airline industry a day earlier.

The current target set by the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations body, is to reduce emissions from international shipping by 50% by 2050.

The International Chamber of Shipping said it has submitted a proposal to the U.N. for the industry to stop adding CO2 to the atmosphere by midcentury.

“Talk is cheap, and action is difficult,” International Chamber of Shipping Chairman Esben Poulsson said in a statement, adding that the group’s proposal “sets out the ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’ for decarbonizing shipping by 2050.”

“A net-zero carbon ambition is achievable by 2050,” Poulsson said. “But only provided governments take the unglamorous but urgent decisions needed to manage this process within a global regulatory framework.”The U.N.’s annual climate change conference starts Oct. 31 in Glasgow, Scotland. The ICS previously called for a global surcharge on carbon emissions from shipping to help fund the sector’s shift toward climate-friendly fuels.

Services sector growth continues

SILVER SPRING, Md. – The U.S. services sector, where most Americans work, grew again in September even as supply chain troubles persisted.

The Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday that its monthly survey of service industries rose to a reading of 61.9, following August’s reading of 61.7.

The gauge hit a record high of 64.1 in July. The July figure was the fastest pace since this data series began in 2008.

Any reading above 50 indicates growth in service industries.

The services index has shown growth for the past 16 months after two months of contraction in April and May of 2020 when the coronavirus triggered widespread shutdowns and millions of job losses.

From wire reports