Environmental organizations Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) released a groundbreaking analysis “No Room for More: Why LNG Carriers Are a Climate and Financial Risk” by Zevero revealing that LNG tankers are enabling catastrophic pollution levels.
“This analysis removes any doubt about the inherent harm of LNG tankers,” said Anna Barford, Oceans Campaigner with Stand.earth. “The expansion of fossil fuel exports, including LNG, has been a popular topic in Canada in response to the US tariffs, but these projects will take too long and cost too much to effectively relieve the pressure. While polluters like LNG Canada and Tilbury LNG are looking to expand their LNG tanker operations crashing through endangered whale habitat protections, tankers will enable 12 billion metric tonnes of climate pollution. LNG is poison peddled as solution.”
The report is timely as LNG Canada prepares to start its first shipments of LNG and as several new and expansion gas projects are proposed for the BC Coast including Ksi Lisims and related Prince Rupert Gas Pipeline as well as the Tilbury and LNG Canada phase 2 expansions. Together these will lead to massive increases in climate pollution and increased tanker traffic.
Read the full report here
SFOC engaged Zevero to analyse the impact of LNG tankers – their findings reveal:
Massive Hidden Emissions: The global fleet of LNG carriers enable approximately 12.7 billion metric tonnes of CO2e annually — a significant climate impact that remains systematically obscured as the shipping industry does not report the full lifecycle emissions of transported fossil gas.
Climate Incompatibility: Despite clear scientific evidence against LNG expansion, the industry continues unprecedented fleet growth, with top carriers like Nakilat (Qatar), Mitsui OSK Lines and NYK Lines (Japan), Angelicoussis Group’s Maran Gas (Greece), and Knutsen OAS Shipping (Norway) leading this expansion, creating stranded asset risks.
Concentrated Financial Control: Just 10 banks are responsible for nearly half ($127 billion) of all maritime LNG shipping finance, with institutions like MUFG, Mizuho, and JPMorgan Chase leading.
Public Finance Contradiction: Government entities actively undermine national and international climate goals, including net-zero pledges and the 1.5°C target outlined in the Paris Agreement, with South Korea alone providing $44.1 billion in LNG carrier financing support over the past decade.
“Banks urgently need to address the climate and financial risks stemming from their maritime LNG finance. Ten banks are responsible for nearly half of all financing for expansion in the sector. It is past time for these banks to set a course towards zero emission vessels and infrastructure projects, or risk going down with the fossil fuel industry’s climate shipwreck.’, said Hannah Saggau Senior Climate Finance Campaigner with Stand.earth.
“The data clearly shows that most (if not all) LNG comes from fracking which has major negative impacts for the local environment, atmosphere, and the future of the planet in a climate emergency.” said Dr. Devyani Singh, Investigative Researcher with Stand Research Group. “The science is unequivocal that climate change is real, harmful to communities and wild spaces, and that increasing fracking will release precisely the pollution that will exacerbate the worst of it.”
The response needed is clear: subsidies and financing to Maritime LNG must be moved immediately to climate safe industry practices such as retrofitting vessels for wind propulsion, building and designing a new fleet of energy efficient vessels, and building out the renewable fuel supply system globally.
Source: Stand.earth