CUPERTINO, Calif. (September 21, 2023) — Apple released a “Mother Nature” ad touting its 2020 promise to bring its entire carbon footprint to net zero by 2030. The ad shows the Apple environmental team giving Mother Nature a status report. In one moment, an Apple team member says, “I’m proud to report that we’re shipping more products by ocean rather than air, which reduces transportation emissions by 95%.”

However, if Apple really wants to show a commitment to maritime shipping, it should join the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA). The mission of ZEMBA is to accelerate commercial deployment of zero-emission shipping, by leveraging companies’ collective buying power to accelerate the zero-emission vessel market and realize the ambition of zero-emission ocean shipping by 2040. 

STATEMENT FROM THE SHIP IT ZERO COALITION:

Eric Leveridge, Ship It Zero Lead, Pacific Environment, said: 

“We call on Apple to prove their commitment to maritime shipping by transporting their goods on 100% zero-emissions ships and becoming a member of ZEMBA. Shifting their goods to maritime shipping is not necessarily a meaningful pathway to carbon neutrality. We need Apple to work with their ocean cargo provider now to move to zero-emission ships rather than rely on carbon offsets which don’t solve the climate crisis. Clearly, we are disappointing Mother Nature and the signs are everywhere – increased flooding, hurricanes and climate-fueled destruction. We have no time to wait, we must act decisively now.”

해운 산업의 오염 문제

The global shipping industry accounts for 3% of global climate emissions, more than global air travel. If shipping were a country, it would be the world’s sixth largest climate polluter. But since maritime shipping negotiated itself out of the U.N. Paris Agreement, the effort to reduce emissions in the industry has been slower than in other sectors.

Approximately 90% of the world trade is transported by sea, and current business-as-usual scenarios project emissions will grow up to 50% over 2018 levels. While the International Maritime Organization noted increased ship size and operational improvements aimed at creating better fuel efficiency have resulted in a decrease in emissions intensity, annual absolute emissions are still increasing.

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Ship It Zero는 세계 최대 기업들이 100% 무공해 해상 운송으로 전환하도록 유도하는 기후 및 공중 보건 캠페인입니다. 이 캠페인은 월마트, 홈디포, 아마존, 타겟, 이케아 등의 기업이 2030년까지 100% 무공해 화물 운송 선박으로 전환할 것을 촉구합니다. 이 목표는 과학자들이 기후 위기로 인한 최악의 결과를 피하기 위해 필요하다고 말하는 지구 온난화를 섭씨 1.5도 이하로 유지하는 데 해운 업계가 공정한 몫을 할 수 있도록 보장할 것입니다.

Media Contact:

Gwen Dobbs, Campaign Communications Director, Pacific Environment, gdobbs@pacificenvironment.org