BEIJING, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The green transformation of shipping brings challenges but also opportunities, said experts on the 2022 North Bund Forum on Tuesday.
The forum, a 3-day event opened in Shanghai on November 22, invited experts from home and abroad to share insight on green, intelligent and resilient global shipping and aviation through global partnerships.
Kitack Lim, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), believed that the journey toward greener shipping has to incorporate the education and training of maritime personnel.
Kitack Lim suggested that the global shipping industry should seize this opportunity to create a greener future through innovative practices for sustainable transportation.
Another significant area of work to spur green transformation of shipping is digitalization, said Kitack Lim, who highlighted using flexible and innovative system to enhance global trade and resilience of global supply chains, saying that "new technologies such as the big data and artificial intelligence are the key to improving shipping safety, environmental performance and sustainable development."
Juan Carlos Salazar, secretary general of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) detailed three current priorities of ICAO which clearly align with the focus of the forum - green, intelligent and resilient transformation of the international aviation and shipping sectors.
In his eyes, the first priority is to support all the stakeholders in the global community to achieve a more resilient, sustainable and innovative global air transport system.
As Juan Carlos Salazar introduced, participants of ICAO's 41st assembly held in last month adopted wide-ranging decisions to help accelerate air transport transformation and sustainability while at the same time safeguarding its traditional goals for safety, security and efficiency.
Considering the crucial role of air transport and trade to social and economic prosperity, Juan Carlos Salazar held that accelerating air travel and air cargo recovery in the Asia Pacific region is therefore the second key priority.
"Success in this area will provide tremendous benefits to the recovery of the aviation industry and the economic development here in the Asia Pacific region, but also all over the world," he said.
Juan Carlos Salazar also underscored the challenges which all industries now face to make their operations, products and services more sustainable.
He said that ICAO members had accordingly joined air transport industry operators in adopting a new collective long-term goal for international aviation at ICAO's 41st assembly of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
ICAO members have also agreed that each of them will be able to proceed towards this target based on their own special circumstances, capabilities and time frames, according to him. (Contributed by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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