Agnete Hessevik

PhD project: Organizing for a green shipping transformation

International shipping accounts for 2-3 % of global CO2 emissions (IMO, 2015). Pressure to address the climate crisis has reached shipping, and parts of the shipping sector have embraced the challenge and set goals for zero emissions shipping. Attaining these goals requires a transformation from today’s fossil fuel-based shipping to new low- and zero emission shipping practices. A transformation requires technology development, new types of fuel and new infrastructure. However, it also requires actors to drive and steer the transition. This project seeks to understand how actors, and networks of actors, initiate and promote new policies and practices which aim to reduce GHG emissions from shipping. The doctoral thesis will contribute to a better understanding of how sustainability transitions are governed, empirical knowledge about how agency and governance matter in a maritime sustainability transition, and to the theoretical advancement of theories of network governance.