U.S., Denmark, and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center join forces to establish Global South green corridors

The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (The Center), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Danish Government have joined forces to resource and execute pre-feasibility studies for green corridors in five countries in the Global South.

The announcement was made on 1 December 2023 at COP28 in Dubai in the presence of U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Minister of Energy of Namibia Tom Alweendo, Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka, and CEO of the Center Bo Cerup-Simonsen.

The project is expected to conduct pre-feasibility studies in Namibia, Panama, and Fiji, and two more countries to be announced soon.

While most existing green corridor studies are being conducted in the Global North, this project aims at demonstrating that green corridors can have benefits also for developing countries and are an important element in ensuring that the green maritime transition is just and equitable.

The project partners will work closely with national and local stakeholders and the private sector, ensuring strong national ownership and capacity building.

Commenting on the project, Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, said:

“We are facing a global transition that needs to be inclusive, just and equitable to be truly sustainable: from East to West and from South to North. Many countries in the Global South are now acting with dedication and urgency to seize the opportunity of catalyzing a transition with social growth opportunities. This is why we are excited to partner with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Danish Government to establish the Global South Green Corridors with countries in Latin America, Africa and the Pacific.“

James Mnyupe, Presidential Economic Advisor and Green Hydrogen Commissioner of Namibia, said:

"Green maritime corridors are an essential response to the need for effectively combatting climate change. However, for a seafaring nation like Namibia, they are equally impactful catalysts for development and a bedrock for sustainable industrialization and a key ingredient of our nation’s Green Industrialization Agenda."

During the World Leaders Summit of COP27 last year, the U.S. Department of State launched the Green Shipping Corridor Initiation Project (GSCIP), focusing on supporting technical collaboration with developing countries to undertake pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for green shipping corridors.

The U.S. is collaborating with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping to combine efforts, resources and ideas in order to pursue an initiative of mutual interest and collaboration related to the GSCIP.

About Green Corridors

Green Corridors are maritime routes that showcase low- and zero-emission lifecycle fuels and technologies with the ambition to achieve zero-emissions.

They are multistakeholder partnerships where public and private actors work together to realize the potential of decarbonizing a shipping route, promoting closer dialogue and collaboration between stakeholders in the ecosystem along the whole maritime value chain, from the local production of alternative energy and alternative fuels to the port infrastructure, vessel owners and operators and cargo owners.

About pre-feasibility studies

The green corridor pre-feasibility study identifies the most important enabling conditions for green corridor projects, including financing, safety, and regulation, as well as the ideal geographical areas to develop for the production of alternative energy, alternative fuels, ports and maritime activities in the country.

The pre-feasibility study thus becomes a basis from which the national and local authorities decide on their selection criteria for the green corridors, ensuring that these comply with national and regional strategies for the green transition. Hereafter there is a consortium incubation workshop, where the results of the pre-feasibility study are discussed among the members, including national authorities, local stakeholders and the private sector as well as the Center.

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