Panama Foreign Minister Discusses Panama’s Sustainable Shipping Plans at COP26

Minister Mouynes Discusses Panama’s Sustainable Shipping Plans at COP26

Panama’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Erika Mouynes, participated in an event with the International Chamber of Shipping during its COP26 side-event “Shaping the Future of Shipping.” The segment, entitled “Shaping the Infrastructure Required to Deliver an Equitable Transition”, included leaders in the global shipping industry and policymakers from Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. 

The event focused on how to build the underlying infrastructure necessary for the fuels of the future to power the world’s transportation, industry, and heating systems. As the technological potential of alternative fuels is fully realized, participants discussed the shipping industry’s role in transporting those resources around the world, and how to build sufficient investment in green shipping infrastructure. 

As home to the Panama Canal, Panama serves as a hemispheric center for logistics and shipping and embraces its unique responsibility to lead the charge on developing green shipping infrastructure. “We want to transform Panama into a hub for clean fuels,” Mouynes said during the event. “We’re looking into concrete projects on methanol, ammonia, and green hydrogen so there is storage and distribution of those fuels.” 

Even as Mouynes committed Panama to become “the green corridor of the Americas,” she acknowledged that no single country, company, or organization will be able to undertake such a massive, ambitious project alone. “In order to work towards decarbonization of the shipping industry, we need to work together,” reiterated Mouynes. “We need to work in capacity building, we need to work in transfer of technology, and we need to work in more research – together.” 

Green fuels will be essential for decarbonizing the shipping and transportation industries, and participants across government, industry, and finance expressed an enduring commitment to building the infrastructure necessary for these fuels to have the maximum positive impact. Panama, having served as the linchpin of shipping and trade in the Americas during the 20th century, looks forward to leading the industry’s transformation in the 21st century.