In this response to the UK’s ‘Course to Zero consultation’, we detail how and why the UK must take into account international maritime emissions in its decarbonisation strategy, and prioritise green hydrogen for hard-to-abate sectors, such as shipping.

In the absence of global regulation, it is the UK’s responsibility to reduce emissions from international shipping in line with the Paris Agreement. By only considering its domestic emissions, not its international emissions, the Net Zero Strategy pathway for domestic maritime vessel emissions ignores the UK’s international responsibility and fails to address the majority of its shipping emissions. Moreover, existing government policy on green hydrogen may inadvertently hinder the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping.