As chairman of the world's largest maritime shipping company, Jim Hagemann Snabe thinks a lot about how goods get where they need to go and the impact their journey has on the planet. Leading the effort to decarbonize shipping by 2050, he shares a plan to convert green electricity into green liquid fuel to power vessels in a process called "power-to-X" -- and urges global leaders to join the voyage towards an innovative, sustainable and fast-approaching future.

Dreams and details for a decarbonized future

Global shipping drives over 9 percent of CO2 emissions, yet solutions exist to make it carbon-neutral. By converting green electricity into liquid fuel through power-to-X, shipping companies can retrofit existing vessels instead of waiting decades to build new ones. Even if green fuel costs more, transporting a pair of sneakers would only be five cents pricier. Real progress hinges on leadership that tackles both the visionary goals and the critical technical steps.