Minneapolis joins Los Angeles and Long Beach to pass resolution on international ocean cargo shipping industry

September 9th, 2022

Awake Goy

Minneapolis joined Los Angeles and Long Beach, California to pass a Ship It Zero resolution, which calls on the international ocean cargo shipping industry to make all imports to the United States on 100 percent zero-emission ships by 2030. The resolution asks large retailers such as Target, Walmart, Amazon and IKEA to make the transition from fossil-fueled ships to emission-reducing technologies in an effort to curb pollution and address the climate crisis.

The Minneapolis resolution also asks for “state and federal legislation or administrative actions to rapidly decarbonize the maritime shipping industry and create zero-emission shipping corridors along the U.S. Coast and across the trans-Pacific trade route, building off the recently announced Shanghai, Los Angeles, and Long Beach green shipping corridor,” according to a press release.

“Given the enormous impact of climate change has on our environment, economic circumstances and public health, I am proud to support this initiative that could potentially help address these very real concerns,” said Andrea Jenkins, City Council President, Ward 8, said. “This resolution calls on large retailers to abandon fossil fueled ships and transition to 100 percent zero-emission ships by 2030, serves to create awareness about the devastating climate impacts of the maritime shipping industry across the county, and is a first step in initiating conversations with local retailers and government partners to advocate for greater climate strategies that address the subsequent air and water pollution from these practices.”

Large retailers and the international ocean cargo shipping industry currently use heavy fuel oil, a tarlike substance containing asthma and cancer-causing air pollutants including particulate matter, to fuel their ships, a press release reported.

“I join the call to top maritime polluters, especially those with large footprints in Minneapolis, to commit to immediate and impactful decarbonizing efforts,” said Aisha Chughtai, Council Member, Ward 10, said. “I’m grateful for the work of council member Wonsley, council president Jenkins, our sustainability team, and Ship It Zero. This is just one of many ways our city can move towards our climate impact goals and ensure our residents will have a future with clean air and water.””We commend the leadership of the Minneapolis City Council in urging major retailers, like Target Corporation, to tackle their massive maritime shipping pollution problem.

According to Ship It Zero, “ocean trade is projected to grow by as much as 130% by 2050 over today’s trade volume: if ships remain on fossil fuels, they will represent 17% of global carbon dioxide emissions by mid-century.” Therefore, Minneapolis became the third city to hold U.S. importers accountable to “take immediate steps to reduce and rapidly eliminate the air and climate-disrupting pollution from the ocean shipping in their supply chain,” Kendra Ulrich, shipping campaigns director and Ship It Zero Campaign lead for Stand.earth, said.

“We commend the leadership of the Minneapolis City Council in urging major retailers, like Target Corporation, to tackle their massive maritime shipping pollution problem,” Ulrich said.