Shipping titan CMA CGM creates £1.3bn fund to accelerate net-zero
Shipping titan CMA CGM has created a $1.5bn (£1.3bn) energy fund to accelerate its transition to net-zero.
“In the face of the climate emergency it is our duty to do more and accelerate our actions,” said chief executive Rodolphe Saade.
The five-year fund will support the industrial production of renewable fuels as well as low-emission solutions for its maritime, overland and air freight shipping services.
As part of the plan, CMA CGM is aiming to produce around 400,000 tonnes of biomethane by the late 2020s from two projects.
It will also fund a global innovation platform alongside other corporations, SMEs and start-ups.
“This fund will enable us to make substantial investments in innovative projects to decarbonize our business,” he added.
“We have allocated the resources needed to accelerate our energy transition and that of the entire shipping and logistics industry.”
The world’s third largest shipping operator after Maersk and MSC, CMA CGM is privately controlled by French-Lebanese billionaires, the Saade family.
For the three months to the end of June, the company posted a net income of $7.6bn – a 123.5 per cent increase on last year’s level – as well as an EBITDA of $9.6bn.
As a result of its soaring profits, the French Government pressured the company to help with rising inflation rates, which resulted in CMA CGM lowering its container rates by 10 per cent.