26AUG2019 - NEWS - As shipping goes green, banks are keeping up

As the International Maritime Organisation clamps down on harmful gas emissions from ships, banks - as the industry's financiers - are evolving alongside. The shipping industry is undergoing unprecedented change as it adapts to impending limits on gas emissions. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations require sulphur content in fuel used by the 70,000 vessels on the water to drop from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent by January 1, 2020. The purpose is to clean up shipping, responsible for 90 percent of global cargo transportation. If it does nothing, the industry will emit as much as 15 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases by 2050, up from 2 percent today.