Book & Claim as a catalyst for shipping decarbonisation
July 16, 2026, The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and Smart Freight Centre have published a new report that strengthens the case for Book & Claim as a catalyst for shipping decarbonisation.
The report, Leveraging Book and Claim to Decarbonize Hard-to-Abate Industry, explores how market based accounting can accelerate the uptake of low and zero emission fuels in sectors where direct decarbonisation remains difficult. Maritime transport is one of the key sectors in focus.
For shipping, the message is highly relevant. The transition to lower emission fuels is underway, but the industry still faces a fundamental challenge: how to create strong demand for sustainable fuels before physical supply chains, bunkering infrastructure and dedicated vessel fleets are available at scale.
Book & Claim offers a practical way forward. It allows cargo owners and freight buyers to support the use of low emission fuels, even when those fuels are not physically used on the exact vessel carrying their cargo. In doing so, it can help create demand today and support investment in the fuel supply chains needed for tomorrow.
FincoEnergies strongly supports this development. The report adds important momentum to a market mechanism that can help bridge the gap between climate ambition and practical action in shipping.
What the new Book & Claim report says
The report argues that Book & Claim should be viewed as more than a temporary workaround. Instead, it presents Book & Claim as a market mechanism that can help accelerate investment in low and zero emission fuels across hard to abate industries.
That is an important shift. Much of the conversation around shipping decarbonisation has focused on fuel production, vessel technology, regulation and infrastructure. These are all essential. But the commercial mechanism behind the transition is just as important.
Without demand, fuel producers face uncertainty. Without available fuels, cargo owners struggle to reduce Scope 3 emissions. Without a credible accounting system, companies may hesitate to make claims or invest in early solutions.
Book & Claim helps connect these parts of the transition. It creates a way for cargo owners to financially support low emission fuel use, while the physical fuel system continues to scale.
Why shipping needs market based accounting
Shipping is a global, asset heavy and highly interconnected sector. A single maritime supply chain can involve cargo owners, freight forwarders, carriers, ports, bunker suppliers and multiple fuel pathways. This makes direct fuel matching difficult.
In an ideal world, every cargo owner would be able to book a vessel that physically runs on low or zero emission fuel for every shipment. In practice, the industry is not there yet. The availability of sustainable marine fuels is still limited. Bunkering infrastructure is not evenly distributed. Vessel readiness differs by fuel type and region.
Market based accounting helps address this reality.
With Book & Claim, the environmental attribute of a low emission fuel can be separated from the physical fuel flow. This means the reduction can be claimed by the company that pays for it, while the fuel itself is used where it is most practical and efficient within the transport system.
That flexibility matters. It avoids unnecessary logistical complexity and helps direct funding to real fuel switches, even when physical delivery to a specific shipment is not yet possible.
How Book & Claim works in shipping
Book & Claim is a chain of custody model. It records the use of a lower emission fuel and allocates the associated environmental benefit to a customer through a controlled accounting system.
In shipping, the process can be understood in four steps.
- First, a lower emission fuel is used in maritime transport. This can include sustainable marine fuels that reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional fossil fuels.
- Second, the CO₂e reduction linked to that fuel use is calculated using a recognised methodology.
- Third, the environmental attribute is booked into a registry or digital system.
- Fourth, the reduction is claimed by a cargo owner or freight buyer, supported by documentation that shows how the reduction was generated and allocated.
The cargo itself does not need to be physically transported on the exact vessel using the lower emission fuel. What matters is that the fuel switch is real, the accounting is robust, and the same reduction is not claimed more than once.
Why FincoEnergies supports credible Book & Claim adoption
FincoEnergies welcomes the report because it supports a practical and credible pathway for transport decarbonisation.
The industry needs lower emission fuels, stronger infrastructure, clear regulation and reliable accounting. Book & Claim brings these elements closer together by helping cargo owners support real fuel switches before physical access is available everywhere.
This is also the principle behind Decarb Desk, FincoEnergies’ digital platform for transport decarbonisation. Decarb Desk enables companies to work with digital Book & Claim, allocate verified CO₂e reductions and receive customer certificates with traceability data across transport modalities.
The role of Decarb Desk is not to replace the broader market discussion. It is to help make credible Book & Claim practical for companies that want to act today.
Leveraging Book and Claim to Decarbonize Hard-to-Abate Industry
The publication of Leveraging Book and Claim to Decarbonize Hard-to-Abate Industry marks an important moment for shipping.
It recognises that the transition to low emission fuels depends on more than fuel availability alone. It also depends on demand creation, market confidence and credible accounting systems.
Book & Claim can help provide that bridge. It gives cargo owners a way to support sustainable fuel use now. It gives fuel producers and shipowners a stronger demand signal. And it gives the market a structure for allocating reductions in a transparent way.
For shipping, this is a positive and necessary development. The transition is already moving. With credible Book & Claim systems, it can move faster.