Nineteen major countries of the world have decided to take on the task of prioritizing sustainability in the maritime trading by linking the ports with zero-carbon emission (green) trade routes. The signatory countries include the United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Costa Rica, Chile, Germany, Denmark, Fiji, Republic of Ireland, Finland, France, Japan, Netherlands, Marshall Islands, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, and Australia.

The countries, during the COP26 climate summit held in Glasgow from 31 October to 13 November 2021, decided on the target of building six green routes by 2025 and will work further to take the numbers further ahead by 2030. International Maritime Organization, the United Nation’s shipping agency, aims to slash down the shipping originated carbon emissions in 2050 to around 50% of the emissions released in 2008.

Marine transportation, which facilitates around 90% of the world’s trade, remains to be the most desirable pick for the transport of petrochemicals to the international downstream sectors. Liquid chemicals, such as crude oil, are transported in tankers while the polyolefins like polyethylene and polypropylene are transported in pellet forms in the shipping containers. Though maritime trading is the most convenient and cost-effective trading mode, it faces backlash from environmentalists due to its contribution in global warming because of carbon dioxide emissions which constitute 3% of the world emissions.

As per ChemAnalyst, the decision of transforming shipping routes to a decarbonized mode of transport is a remarkable initiative that holds the potential to bring a strikingly positive change in the trading activity. However, the decarbonization of the trade routes in its infancy may inflict a hike in freight charges for petrochemicals and other traded commodities as the limited accessibility to green routes and streamlining of logistics across the ports may cause the producers to pay more than usual.