The US, Canada, and Mexico have ‘committed to combatting the climate crisis’ by working together on the development of a clean hydrogen market in North America.

At the conclusion of the North American Leaders’ Summit, the countries agreed to work together in six areas, including methane emissions reduction, electric vehicle chargers, and hydrogen.

According to the White House fact sheet, the nations committed to “developing a North American clean hydrogen market, including potential cooperation on research and development, safety codes and standards, cross-border hydrogen clusters, green freight corridors, and integrated maritime operations.”

Allyson Browne, Climate Campaign Manager for Ports at Pacific Environment, said: “We are encouraged by the trilateral agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico and applaud the inclusion of maritime and green freight corridors. We call for an acceleration of shipping decarbonisation consistent with a 1.5-degree C pathway and elimination of in-port ship emissions by 2030.”

Pacific Environment organisation said that “funding for sustainable port infrastructure development is vital to decarbonising the ocean shipping and freight industries at large. In addition to investing in new clean energy resources, we must stop fossil fuel development and infrastructure, including LNG. To support the production of green hydrogen, we also must dedicate funds to develop additional renewable energy resources so that hydrogen production does not divert the grid’s clean energy supply.”

According to the organisation, ocean shipping emits 1 billion metric tons of CO2 every year, and on its current trajectory, maritime trade could grow by as much as 150% by 2050 over today’s trade volume.

The announcement follows the COP27 Summit, where there were a number of green shipping announcements, including the launch of the Green Shipping Challenge, which encourages governments, ports, and private sector companies to prepare commitments to spur the transition to green shipping.