Maritime Research: Challenges for Carbon Neutrality in Context of COP 26

Dear Colleagues,

The term 'net-zero' refers to a situation in which anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a given time period. Some net-zero targets do not attempt to balance all greenhouse gas emissions and removals, but simply CO2 emissions and removals. Carbon 'neutrality targets' are a term used to describe such goals (Chevallier, 2021). The carbon neutrality goal necessitates renouncing the concept of burden-sharing and instead of understanding that, in the long run, each country must face the difficulty of achieving very low emission levels within its own borders (Chevallier, 2021). The nature of the domestic transformation, including the political economy aspects of the transition, will, in any case, be determined by the nature of the global transition. As a result, capturing comprehensive decarbonisation narratives in nation studies at a level of depth sufficient to instruct will be a huge problem (Kythreotis et al., 2021).

Developed countries must achieve net-zero emissions and accelerate their decarbonisation efforts to free up some global carbon budget for developing countries such as India as they transition to a low-carbon development path. Developed countries' financial pledges will undoubtedly aid underdeveloped countries in their transition away from fossil fuels (Kythreotis et al., 2021). A summit of 50 countries in London on 26 July 2021 ended without an agreement on the phase-out of coal consumption, which will be a roadblock to achieving the 1.5°C global warming target. Another attempt had failed, when G20 ministers in Naples, Italy, were unable to agree on the phase-out of coal power. India, China, and Russia, all of which use a lot of coal, were among the countries that resisted the G20 agreement to phase out coal.

The world is facing various challenges in order to cater to carbon neutrality, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the legal structures and organisational setups of business activities, particularly in CRE, vary, they include wholly owned businesses, incorporated and non-incorporated joint ventures, subsidiaries, and others, as well as numerous forms of leased assets within these varied structures (Chevallier, 2021). According to the GHG Protocol, when establishing organisational boundaries, a firm chooses a method for consolidating GHG emissions and then uses that method consistently to designate the companies and operations that make up the company for the purposes of accounting and reporting emissions (Kythreotis et al., 2021). It is critical to recognise the major ways in which the ocean both contributes to and acts as a major buffer against climate change, with a focus on temperature but without neglecting the importance of carbon storage.

Considering all that, Sustainability is a critical platform for exploring issues related to human beings' environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability, as well as issues in policy perspectives pertaining to sustainable developmental goals. Similarly, it is an excellent platform for studies on the issues associated with carbon neutrality in the context of COP26 targets. Contributions to this Special Issue are expected to advance knowledge in the field, thereby benefiting a diverse range of stakeholders, including policymakers, businesses, consumers, and the general public.

The objective of this Special Issue includes investigating and examining the challenges for attaining carbon neutrality in the perspective of COP26 targets, specifically in the maritime research area. Submissions that adhere to the principle of academic quality in terms of their significance, uniqueness, and rigour will be considered for publication in the Special Issue.

This Special Issue call welcomes submissions in the following areas:

• Role of COP26 targets in addressing ocean change;
• Prospects for carbon-neutral maritime fuel production;
• Reduction in maritime GHG emissions and the potential role of e-fuels;
• Potential and limiting factors in the use of alternative fuels in the maritime sector;
• Energy storage via carbon-neutral fuels made from CO, water, and renewable energy;
• Global maritime sustainability;
• Reviewing the pathways of renewable energy and carbon capture;
• Role of the COVID-19 pandemic in achieving carbon neutrality.

The SI shall particularly welcome multidisciplinary papers, but review, conceptual, quantitative, and qualitative papers shall all be considered.

Dr. Gagan Deep Sharma
Dr. Lianbiao Cui
Dr. Umer Shahzad
Dr. Mandeep Mahendru
Guest Editors

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• energy and environmental economics
• computable general equilibrium model
• green finance