Mapping Our Maritime Future - groundbreaking decarbonisation research from the Nautilus Federation

Climate change is a real and present threat to our way of life, of that there is no dispute. There is an imperative on all sectors of our economy to lower, and eventually phase out, carbon emissions. That is why Nautilus supports efforts to decarbonise shipping.

However, the technological and fuel changes required cannot be to the detriment of our maritime professionals; in fact, while our industry experiences this transition, we should use this opportunity to address long-standing injustices and agree a new social contract for seafarers.

This is why all the affiliate unions of the Nautilus Federation are committed to the principles of the 'Just Transition' – in which no seafarer is disadvantaged or put at risk during the major changes to come.

As trade unionists, we always say 'a union is its members', so it is important for us to find out directly from individual members what they want from a Just Transition. And in a global industry, we need to hear the voices of seafarers around the world. So what better organisation to carry out this research than the Nautilus Federation?

With over 20 affiliate unions in countries as far apart as Finland, Panama and Australia, we knew that a survey run by the Federation would result in research findings that would be respected and used throughout the industry, and I am happy to say that our research project Mapping Our Maritime Future has exceeded our expectations.

In our accompanying article The Just Transition: reasons for research, you can read more about how the research came into being and how it was carried out, and then we encourage you to read the full report, which is available for free download in the Resources sections of the Nautilus Federation website and the Nautilus International website.

I would like to thank all the members of Nautilus Federation unions who took part in the research, and I commend the Mapping Our Maritime Future research to you and to every member of our international union family. It is thanks to you that your unions will now be able to campaign for the Just Transition that you want, with underpinned by the information you have provided.