S&P Global Climate Transition Trends: Global shippers chart a complex course

This report does not constitute a rating action.

S&P Global Ratings published the report "Sustainability Insights: Climate Transition Trends: Global Shippers Chart A Complex Course," Jan. 20, 2026, which applies S&P Global Ratings' Climate Transition Assessment to estimate the Shade of Green for a global sample of 27 maritime shipping companies.

"Maritime shipping companies are gradually reducing greenhouse gas emissions from propulsion, but we expect only modest progress by 2030," said Bryan Popoola, associate director of sustainable finance.

We estimate that 23 companies would receive a Current Shade of Orange, indicating continuous heavy reliance on traditional fossil fuels. Companies more involved in transporting fossil fuels would receive a Current Shade of Red. We do not foresee any companies in our sample attaining a green shade by 2030, and we foresee only three companies are likely to make sufficient decarbonization progress to reach a shade of Yellow.

Many companies in the sector have set long-term decarbonization targets that would require substantial investments in biofuels, methanol, and dual-fuel liquified natural gas vessels. However, fuel availability, price, and lack of policy support may hinder implementation.

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