The Port of Dover has unveiled three ambitious targets that it says will put it at the vanguard of decarbonisation within the UK ports industry and help position Britain as a global leader in delivering one of the key COP26 commitments following the UK government’s hosting of the global climate summit last November.
The first two targets aim for Net Zero as follows:
-To be carbon net zero by 2025 (Scope 1&2 – direct emissions from operations and indirect emissions from purchased energy)
-To be carbon net zero by 2030 (Scope 1 & 2 and defined Scope 3 – all other emissions associated with activity)
Handling £144 billion of trade, the Port of Dover provides almost 60% of all ferry journeys between the UK and Europe that carry around one-third of all HGVs using major UK seaports. It is also a leading UK cruise and cargo port, and work across the business has already seen Dover reduce its carbon footprint by an impressive 85% since 2007.
The Port’s third target is:
-To become the world’s first (high-volume) Green Shipping Corridor
Market commitment to the route shows that trade through the Port of Dover is set to grow in the years ahead, and so Dover’s commitment will also help deliver on the Government’s ambition for clean maritime growth as part of the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom’s flagship Maritime 2050 strategy, the Clean Maritime Plan and the Clydebank Declaration announced in Glasgow at COP26.
The targets were unveiled during a visit to the Port by Maritime Minister Robert Courts.