During the inaugural Aspen Ideas: Climate event in Miami Beach, Florida, two events highlighted the power of cross value chain collaboration to drive decarbonization ambition and action in the maritime sector. One event, “Powering a Floating City”, highlighted a collaboration between the Port of Miami, Florida Power and Light Company, and the CEOs of five cruise line companies to install shore power at the port, allowing vessels to “plug-in” to the local grid and reduce emissions. The session, moderated by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava, also explored the logistics, funding, and technologies needed to decarbonize the maritime sector overall and the importance of partnerships like this to drive toward a zero emission future.

The second event, “Setting Sail to Zero-Emission Shipping” was moderated by Aspen Institute Shipping Decarbonization Initiative Director Ingrid Irigoyen and featured Amazon’s CSO Kara Hurst, Ørsted Offshore North America CEO David Hardy, and A.P. Moller-Maersk’s Head of Environment and Sustainability, North America, Lee Kindberg. Together, they discussed the importance of leaders working together across the value chain to align ambition and support one another in building the business case for a zero emission maritime sector and outlined a future where goods can be moved across the ocean without carbon and powered by renewable energy from the ocean. Listen to the session here: Setting Sail To Zero Emission Shipping (aspenideas.org)

Shore power and decarbonization panel at the Port of Miami with cruise line CEOs and Florida Power and Light

Aspen SDI Director Ingrid Irigoyen (far right) with (from left to right), Lee Kindberg, David Hardy, and Kara Hurst