Antalya, Türkiye - The Maritime Community of Action brings together a coalition of maritime stakeholders and partners to launch the Maritime Electrification Breakthrough Goal at COP31, establishing a shared ambition to increase electricity's share of international shipping's final energy demand to at least 20% by 2035.
COP31 Maritime Electrification Breakthrough Goal
This decade is critical for decarbonizing the maritime sector. Integrated energy planning, accelerated action and ambitious policy implementation are vital to keep international shipping on track for net-zero by or around 2050. Whilst the maritime sector is not yet a major consumer of electricity, there are many cost-effective opportunities to increase its use. Delivering maritime electrification will require coordinated action across vessels, ports and terminals, landside freight, utilities and grids, renewable generation and, increasingly, renewable fuel production. Ports sit at the intersection of these systems and will be critical energy and implementation nodes for the transition.
COP31 presents an electrification goal: raising the share of global final energy demand met by electricity to 35% by 2035 (up from just over 20%), cutting fossil fuel dependence, and driving sector transitions.
Many international and regional initiatives, coalitions and alliances already promote maritime decarbonization. This Maritime Electrification Breakthrough Goal aims to align political and collective action to accelerate the deployment and expansion of electrification.
Our Shared Goal
We, representing the maritime sector from across the value chain, support the COP31 Maritime Electrification goal by aligning our actions with the following target:
- Increase electricity’s share of shipping’s final energy demand to at least 20% (additional 2EJ) by 2035.
Our Commitments
In pursuit of these goals, and according to our respective roles, authorities and capabilities, we commit to:
- Share knowledge and lessons learned, publishing reports and key findings to accelerate the deployment and reduce learning costs.
- Participate in public/private platforms, initiatives, pilot projects, and demonstrations that help advance technical readiness, global standardization and policies that incentivize electrification in every region.
- Ensure a just transition by supporting the development of a skilled workforce both on the ship and port side supporting current workers at risk of displacement from the energy transition doing so in an equitable and inclusive manner.
- Work with finance institutions to increase and facilitate access to capital for large-scale electrification infrastructure projects in ports and shipping.
- Review progress annually until 2035 including by improving data collection to establish baselines and track global progress towards these goals.
We intend to work collaboratively and expeditiously towards this goal. We are confident that these collaborative actions will deliver lasting benefits for the maritime sector, port communities, emerging economies and the global climate.
Our Call to Governments
We urge Member States to adopt a progressive set of climate measures at the IMO in 2026 that support the realization of the 2023 GHG Strategy, measures that can also provide a clear signal to unlock the sector’s urgent electrification investments. In addition, we call on Member States to integrate measures related to maritime electrification in their NDCs, and support the integration of this topic in the Second Global Stocktake.
The Maritime Electrification Goal is supported by:
Annex I: The opportunity for electrification in the maritime sector
Current energy demand and the electrification pathway
For shipping’s direct energy use, the final energy demand is estimated at around 10EJ. Domestic and short-sea shipping outside the international-shipping boundary, port and terminal operations, and port-related landside transport represent additional maritime-related energy demand but are not included in the quantified 20% target. Electricity used upstream to produce renewable fuels is likewise not counted as final energy demand electrification. These activities are nevertheless critical to the broader maritime energy transition and to the infrastructure, markets and energy systems needed to deliver the goal.
Total demand is expected to stay approximately constant or rise slightly, taking into account growth in trade, transport demand and also efficiency. The large majority of shipping’s energy use is currently met through the use of fossil fuels consumed in internal combustion engines.
Within this broader system, direct electricity use is expected to grow through several interconnected pathways:
- Deployment of Onshore Power Supply (OPS) in ports; currently deployed in about 3% of cruise ship terminals, plus container and bulk terminals in the USA, China and Europe.
- Share of fleet powered by battery electrification: More than 1,600 battery-powered vessels are in operation globally, including fully electric and hybrid ships. Significant potential remains for cost-effective expansion, particularly on shorter international voyages, although deployment continues to face challenges related to charging infrastructure, maintenance and local capacity.
- Electrification of landside port operations; an estimated 100,000–120,000 container handling equipment units need to be decarbonized as well as port and port-related land-transport (trains, road vehicles, harbour craft). Some terminals are already electrified; for example, APM Terminals Suape is Latin America’s first 100% electrified container terminal.
These pathways are interconnected. As maritime electricity demand grows, ports will increasingly function as energy and implementation nodes connecting vessels and terminals with landside freight, utilities and grids, renewable generation and, in some locations, renewable fuel production. Coordinated planning across these systems can aggregate demand, improve infrastructure utilization, support investment in grid capacity and renewable generation, and reduce the risk of fragmented or stranded infrastructure.
Directly electrifying shipping and port energy use can cut GHG emissions by up to ~98%, depending on the local grid’s energy mix and GHG intensity, while also reducing particulate matter, NOx and SOx. These reductions can deliver immediate air-quality and public-health benefits, particularly for communities located near ports and freight corridors that experience disproportionate exposure to transportation-related pollution. Electrification can also support energy security, workforce development and local economic opportunity, while investments in grid capacity, renewable generation and distributed energy resources can contribute to wider resilience and economic development.
Long-haul international shipping will still need liquid fuels, and the production of renewable fuels like green hydrogen and ammonia will also require large amounts of renewable electricity. Although fuel production is not considered as final energy demand, it would also advance the COP 31 aims of cutting fossil fuel dependence and driving sector transitions.
Overall, achieving international shipping's 2050 net-zero goal could require up to 3,000 TWh of renewable electricity annually — roughly equivalent to global renewable electricity generation at the time of the underlying 2022 study. Achieving this requires joint cross-sector energy planning across ports, grids, renewable generation and fuel production.
Incentives and policy drivers
Electrification can offer lower operating costs and substantial climate, air-quality and energy-security benefits, but the challenge is not simply access to capital. Projects must also be structured to become bankable. High upfront costs, uncertain utilization and demand, electricity-price risk, long infrastructure development timelines and uncertainty over how costs and risks are allocated among ports, terminal operators, utilities, shipowners and other users can delay investment even where the underlying technology is commercially available.
Creating investable projects will therefore require stronger demand signals and mechanisms that reduce risk for first movers. These can include mandates and standards, long-term offtake or utilization commitments, utility participation and cost-sharing, public and concessional finance, guarantees and other credit-enhancement mechanisms, blended finance, carbon pricing and targeted incentives. Public investment can play a particularly important role in absorbing early-stage risk and crowding in private capital as technologies and markets mature.
The UN specialized agency for international shipping, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), through unanimous agreement of its member States, has committed to transition international shipping to net zero emissions by or around 2050, with GHG emission reductions by 2030 (20%, striving for 30%) and 2040 (70%, striving for 80%) against a 2008 baseline. It already has some policy instruments that incentivise electrification, and is considering further policy to strengthen the incentive. The IMO has also adopted a resolution on renewable electricity use that represents one of the least costly ways to achieve these reductions, where it is viable. Other national and regional regulation also already exists with strong incentives and mandates to accelerate the sector’s electrification (e.g., FuelEU Maritime onshore power mandate).
Opportunities for developing countries
Electrifying shipping and ports can create significant opportunities for developing and emerging economies, particularly where strong renewable-energy resources can support both maritime demand and wider economic development. However, higher costs of capital, constrained grid infrastructure and limited public fiscal capacity can make first-of-a-kind investments particularly difficult. International shipping demand can provide an anchor for investment in renewable generation and grid infrastructure, while concessional and blended finance can help reduce risk and mobilize private capital. Structured effectively, these investments can deliver benefits beyond the maritime sector, including improved air quality, new skills and employment, local industrial development, stronger electricity systems and greater energy resilience.
Estimating shipping’s contribution to the COP31 Electrification Goal
Across all sectors of the economy, electricity currently accounts for approximately 100 EJ, or 23% of global final energy demand. To meet the COP31 goal of increasing electricity’s share of global final energy demand to 35% by 2035, the IEA’s High Electrification Scenario (HES) projects an additional 9,200 TWh (approximately 33 EJ) of electricity demand across transport, industrial heat, and heating and cooking in buildings by 2035, with transport offering the largest potential for growth given its currently low level of electrification.
A significant share of maritime energy demand could be electrified in the near term. Recent research estimates that vessel segments representing approximately 30% of maritime energy consumption could be technically electrified by 2030, with electrification economically advantageous for an estimated 90% of the technically electrifiable fleet. Separate research estimates that approximately 10% of international shipping's greenhouse gas emissions occur within port areas, highlighting additional opportunities for electrification through shore power and battery-electric propulsion. Together, these findings demonstrate significant potential for maritime electrification. Allowing for practical deployment constraints and a conservative pace of deployment, 20% (~2 EJ) of international shipping's final energy demand could plausibly be electrified by 2035.
This represents a sizable contribution (around 6% of the 33EJ the IEA suggests transport, industry and buildings could add) towards the COP31 goal.
Note that in addition international shipping also has a large potential future demand for e-fuels, which would be produced using renewable electricity, however any growth in use of e-fuel would not constitute final energy demand electrification.
Annex II: Examples of current leadership actions in the maritime sector
- North America: Onshore power is already provided extensively (e.g., Port of Seattle, Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach and Port of Miami), primarily through high-voltage shore connections for cruise and container berths.
- Europe: Ports such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bergen and Gothenburg operate multi-berth OPS systems for ferries, cargo vessels and cruise ships.
- China: Over 81% of berths across 21 major ports are equipped with OPS capabilities, catering for container ships, cruise ships, ro-ros, dry bulk and inland river barges.
This is primarily driven by mandates, which vary by region. The European Union’s FuelEU Maritime Regulation requires large container ships, cruise ships and ferries to use shore power at berth from 2030. In China, non-tanker vessels must use OPS if they are in port for more than three hours. In North America, mandates are set at state or port authority level.
Case Study: Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority
Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority are advancing the development of large-scale solar power infrastructure to support port operations. With ongoing investment in electric-powered reach stackers, three-tonners, and state-of-the-art electric cranes across 3 terminals at the Port of Tema. Over the past five years, electricity demand has increased by approximately 138%, reaching an average load of 18.6 MW by the end of 2025. By 2028, this is projected to grow to about 35 MW, driven by the electrification of equipment and the introduction of shore power systems.
Other examples are provided in C40 Cities and Arup’s Ports as Clean Energy Hubs report and in the World Ports Sustainability Program.
Given the leadership that is already being demonstrated in the maritime sector, there is clearly significant potential for expanding deployment of electrification across ports and shipping. For example:
- Shipping operator DFDS committed €1 billion to deploy six battery-electric vessels on its UK–EU routes by 2030–2035.
- Battery manufacturer CATL has expanded aggressively into maritime technology, with its systems already operational in 900 electric and hybrid ships globally.
Footnotes
1 The Maritime 2030 Breakthroughs include zero-emission fuels meeting at least 5%, aiming for 10%, of international shipping's energy demand; a 30% reduction in international shipping's impact on marine biodiversity; 450,000 seafarers upskilled or retrained; and 30% of global trade moving through climate-adapting ports by 2030. See UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and partners, Ocean Breakthroughs: Shipping.
2 The 20% (~2 EJ) target applies specifically to electricity used to meet international shipping's final energy demand, including direct vessel electrification and electricity supplied to vessels at berth. It does not include electricity consumed by domestic shipping, port and terminal operations, landside freight, or the production of renewable fuels. These complementary sources of electricity demand are nevertheless integral to the maritime transition and are addressed throughout this statement and Annex I.
3 Ricardo and DNV (2023), Study on the Readiness and Availability of Low- and Zero-Carbon Ship Technology and Marine Fuels, report prepared for the International Maritime Organization (IMO), MEPC 80/INF.10, Section 3.1, p. 6. See also DNV GL (2017), Energy Transition Outlook: Maritime Forecast, as reported in The Motorship, “Shifting energy demand to impact shipping”.
4 Maritime Battery Forum (MBF) (2026), MBF Ship Register, global battery-powered vessel fleet statistics, accessed 7 November 2026. Includes fully electric and hybrid vessels.
5 International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) (2022), Fuelling the Fourth Propulsion Revolution, research by Stefan Ulreich, University of Applied Sciences Biberach. See ICS, “New data shows future-fuel demand for shipping industry equal to entire current global production of renewables,” 17 May 2022.
6 International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) (2022), “New data shows future-fuel demand for shipping industry equal to entire current global production of renewables,” 17 May 2022.
7 International Energy Agency (IEA) (2026), Electrification, IEA, Paris, September 2026.
8 International Energy Agency (IEA) (2026), Electrification, p. 50, Figure 2.2.
9 Mackenbach, K., Singhal, H., Zhao, T., Pradhan, S., Wolf, R. M., and Nevenzeel, K. (2026), “Techno-economic feasibility of electrification for short sea shipping,” npj Clean Energy, 2, Article 14.
10 UCL Shipping and Oceans Research Group (2026), “New research shows a sizable share of shipping emissions can be reduced through electrification,” 27 August 2026.