An A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S container ship sits under construction at a Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019.
SeongJoon Cho—Bloomberg/Getty Images

Shipping is responsible for 3% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, emitting close to 1 billion metric tons of CO2 annually. To clean things up, Danish shipping giant Maersk is working with renewables firm European Energy to kick-start large-scale production of sustainably produced carbon-neutral e-methanol. Maersk plans to launch the first container ship using carbon-neutral fuel next year, and is building 12 larger liners that run on green methanol too. It also recently accelerated its net-zero emissions goal to 2040, compared to the industry standard of at least a 50% reduction by 2050 compared to 2008.

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Correction, March 30

The original version of this story misstated the shipping industry’s emissions reductions goal. The industry’s goal is at least a 50% reduction by 2050 compared to 2008’s figures, not net-zero emissions by 2050.

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