On 13 May 2026, Professor Haymet delivered a pre-recorded video address to the Maritime Decarbonisation Summit.

Transcript:

Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. 

I’m sorry I can’t be with you in person. But I’m very pleased to join you by video – because this summit comes at an important moment for your sector and our nation.

You’re meeting on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people. And I pay my respects to their elders, past and present, and acknowledge their enduring connection to lands – and waters and air. 

Like many of you, water has been central to my career. I began in chemistry and oceanography, led marine research at the CSIRO, and I’ve directed the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the United States. Across those roles I worked closely with seafarers and maritime professionals. Sometimes on a ship. Sometimes in the C suite. Both settings where it can get stormy!

And it was during a storm that I had a climate turning point – back around 1992. I was conducting research on fish blood at McMurdo station in Antarctica when a large storm hit. The station had a fantastic library, the Crary Library, so I kept myself busy during the storm in there. 

As the wind blew outside for days on end, I immersed myself in the peer-reviewed literature: the evidence about climate change – and how it was affecting our world.

Now, more than 30 years later, I’m privileged to serve as Australia’s Chief Scientist, and as a member of the Climate Change Authority. 

So, part of my work focuses on hard-to-abate industry sectors that work to long timeframes. And that’s the lens I want to bring to you today.

Not a lecture about climate change – you don’t need that – but a practical reflection on navigating a complex transition while also meeting your critical objectives.  Objectives regarding competitiveness, safety, reliability and sovereign capability.

Maritime decarbonisation is shaped by a stark reality. Your industry makes decisions today about assets and infrastructure that will still be operating as we approach the 22nd century.

Those vessels must be competitive and compliant – not just now, but decades from now.

And that’s why this summit matters. It demonstrates that decarbonisation is no longer fringe. It is mainstream and more relevant than ever – with the International Maritime Organisation discussing how best to decarbonise shipping.

But decarbonisation is also a highly complex challenge, and one without a single solution.

Just as there are often many routes to a port, there will be multiple pathways on the journey to maritime decarbonisation.

And in many regards, as your summit program shows, that journey is a coordination challenge.

It involves aligning systems that change at different speeds – from ships and ports, to fuels, regulation, finance and workforce skills. That complexity means progress will not be linear. 

Instead, it will involve interim steps – as improvements roll out at different speeds. 

And there’ll be many course corrections along the way – as zero emissions technologies continue to evolve, mature, and scale.

Uncertainty is inevitable, and so too is disagreement. 

But that’s normal – we see it in science as well as in shipping.

So, the challenge is not to eliminate uncertainty, but to design pathways that allow systems to adapt, learn and improve over time. 

In the near term, much progress will come from using existing tools better. 

That allows for improved efficiency and the deployment of mature technologies at scale – while creating space for the next wave of innovations that deliver deeper cuts over time. 

The energy transition demands enormous innovation. And Australia has a strong track record of it – your industry included. 

But it’s not always about breakthrough technologies. Sometimes, innovation is far more ordinary – at least at first glance. Take the shipping container. A simple steel box.

The real innovation was not making the box itself but reaching agreement on a common standard for it. 

That single act of coordination transformed global trade, allowing containers to move seamlessly from ship to rail to road.

It was not blue-sky science or a technological leap. But it was profoundly innovative.

And it’s a reminder that progress can come just as much from governance, regulation and coordination as from new technology.

Your pitch-fest at this summit shines a light on future maritime innovation. 

And your summit’s wider program points to real progress already underway – practical innovations that strengthen performance, resilience and sustainability across shipping.

It shows how you are integrating decarbonisation into your long-term commercial decision making, not treating it as a bolt-on – because decarbonising is not just a compliance task. It is also an economic and strategic enabler.

It supports domestic industry and jobs, while strengthening energy security – as well as supply chains for trade and defence. And it positions Australia as a supplier of green energy and the infrastructure that enables it. 

I’m especially encouraged by the progress you’re making through green, and digital, corridors.

Together, they allow improvements now – while longer term energy solutions continue to develop and scale.

Yes, it is still early days. These corridors are largely emerging initiatives – built around pilots, demonstrations, and early-stage implementation measures.

From a scientific perspective, that is exactly what we want. 

Because these corridors are not just routes and projects, they are learning platforms. They allow evidence to be built. Standards to be set. Skills to develop. And critically, they allow adjustments to be made before large, irreversible investments are locked in.

Corridor arrangements in our region are continuing to progress.

Through the Green Economy Agreement, and the green and digital shipping corridor with Singapore, Australia’s maritime sector and emerging green fuel production capacity are connecting more closely with that nation.

This links our capabilities with Singapore’s world leading bunkering infrastructure and capabilities.

It also taps into its regulatory expertise and digital systems.

Meanwhile, the cooperation on green shipping corridors between Australia and the Republic of Korea will see a pre-feasibility study completed this year.  

To decarbonise maritime routes between both countries, the study will examine alternative fuel supply chains, cargo trends, port infrastructure readiness, and vessel requirements. 

For the shipping industry, energy-dense liquid fuels will remain part of the system for some time. But that does not dilute the ambition to reach net zero. 

Instead, it reinforces the need for transition pathways that reduce emissions now – while we continue to develop zero-emission fuels, ships and infrastructure.

And we should be honest about the scale of the task. Shipping is a meaningful share of global emissions – around three percent. And recent UN reporting shows emissions from the sector increased in 2024. 

So, progress matters, at a national and international level.
 
Low carbon liquid fuels, including biofuels, can play a critical part in the energy transition.

Australia is well placed to develop a domestic biofuel industry, supported by our land, bio-mass resources, and our ag sector. 

I have a long-time interest in this area, having once worked with business partners on setting up an Australian subsidiary for an overseas algae-based bio-fuel project. 

But I am agnostic about which low carbon liquid fuels are developed and where they are deployed. Those are decisions for industry and government – informed by evidence, economics and safety.
 
Australia's potential, for domestic low-carbon liquid fuel production, is significant. But those fuels currently make up less than one per cent of Australia's fuel use. 

And in 2024, we exported around $4-billion in feedstocks to support LCLF production overseas. 

The Australian Government is taking steps to build a domestic LCLF industry. 

It predicts that industry could be worth around $36-billion by 2050. And it estimates that, over time, it would prevent about 230 million tonnes of climate warming emissions. The announcement last September of the $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program is certainly a step in that direction. 
 
I want to briefly return to McMurdo Station and its book-filled library, where I waited out that big storm decades ago. 

Our understanding of climate change has evolved significantly since I sat there with the wind roaring outside. 

And so too, has the response of your industry. An industry that is no stranger to challenge – and no stranger to innovation.

In fact, after years of working with maritime professionals, I remain very optimistic about your capacity to meet this decarbonisation challenge.

That’s why I see a prosperous future in which Australia retains a strong, sovereign maritime capability. A future in which decarbonisation is key to our competitiveness and resilience.

So, my encouragement is straight-forward.

Keep building multiple pathways, step by step, to decarbonisation.

Keep aligning the systems that make it possible.

And keep using evidence to learn, and to adapt with confidence, as the energy transition unfolds.

Thank you.