India, EU formally launch Green Shipping Corridor industry coalition
An industry coalition for the India-EU Green Shipping Corridor was formally launched at Sagarmanthan 2026 in New Delhi on October 7, 2026, with a Letter of Intent signed. V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is part of it and RMI is the technical partner. It will assess green ammonia and green methanol supply, port infrastructure and European receiving ports.
Syllabus: Prelims · Environment & Ecology; GS3 · Infrastructure; GS3 · Environment & Conservation
Why it matters
A shipowner will not order a ship that runs on ammonia unless ports on its route sell that fuel, and a fuel maker will not build a plant unless ships are sure to buy from it. A corridor breaks this deadlock by picking one route and bringing the port, the fuel maker, the shipping line and the buyer to the same table. For India it is also a new export market: green ammonia and green methanol made with Indian solar and wind power could be sold to European ships and factories. Most of India's trade by volume moves by sea, so cleaner shipping fuels decide how much carbon its exports carry.
Prelims pointers
- Green shipping corridor: a route between two or more ports where zero-emission or near-zero-emission fuels and ships are deployed with supporting fuel supply and rules.
- Clydebank Declaration: launched at COP26, Glasgow, in 2021; signatories pledged to support at least six green corridors by the middle of this decade.
- International Maritime Organization (IMO): United Nations specialised agency for shipping safety and pollution, headquartered in London.
- IMO 2023 strategy: net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping by or around 2050, measured against 2008 levels.
- MARPOL: the IMO convention on pollution from ships; its Annex VI covers air pollution.
- Green ammonia: ammonia made from green hydrogen and nitrogen from the air; it has no carbon, so burning it releases no carbon dioxide.
- Green methanol: methanol made from green hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide, or from biomass; it is a liquid at normal temperature.
- National Green Hydrogen Mission: approved in January 2023 under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; targets 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to green shipping corridors, consider the following statements:
1. The Clydebank Declaration for Green Shipping Corridors was launched at the COP27 climate conference held at Sharm el-Sheikh.
2. A green shipping corridor is a route between two or more ports on which zero-emission or near-zero-emission fuels and ships are deployed.
3. Signatories of the Clydebank Declaration pledged to support at least six green corridors by the middle of this decade.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
1 is incorrect: the Clydebank Declaration was launched at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, not at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. 2 is correct: a green shipping corridor is a route between two or more ports served by zero-emission or near-zero-emission fuels and ships. 3 is correct: the signatories pledged to support at least six green corridors by the middle of this decade.
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