French shipping group CMA CGM has put its money where its mouth is when it comes to protection of the oceans.
CEO Rodolphe Saadé told delegates at the three-day ‘One Ocean Summit’ in Brest, a global event dedicated to the protection of the oceans and organised by French President Emmanuel Macron, that it would stop transporting plastic waste aboard its ships effective from June 1 to help curb ocean pollution.
In his presentation at the event earlier this month, Saadé said the line currently carried the equivalent of about 50 000 standard containers of plastic waste annually.
Each year, around 10 million tons of plastic waste end up in the sea and, unless action is taken, that figure is set to triple over the next 20 years to reach 29 million tons per year, causing irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, fauna and flora, CMA CGM said in its announcement.
This latest commitment is one of a raft of interventions introduced by the carrier in line with its undertaking at COP 26 in November last year when Saadé committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2050.
The Group is developing its fleet of dual fuel gas vessels powered by LNG, a fleet that is already compatible with future technologies such as biomethane and e-methane, while on April 8, 2021 it launched its first low-carbon shipping service by choosing biomethane, a green non-fossil gas produced from organic waste, among other things.
This fuel allows ships to reduce CO2 emissions by 67%. This fleet of "e-methane-ready" vessels will include 44 ships by 2024.
Speaking at the summit, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Our mission to protect the ocean needs to be as big as our shared responsibility.
"That is why we have come to Brest today to join forces and turn the tide.
"Europe can make a huge contribution, as a maritime power.
"But only together can we step up protection and let our oceans teem with life again.”
