In the Paris COP21 agreement, member states agreed to commit to reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the shipping industry, making promises that are both ambitious and realistic. A Norwegian chemicals’ group Yara has taken the first step, unveiling its new project vessel Yara Birekland, which is slated to begin operations in the later half of 2018. Yara Birekland will take off autonomously, fuelled by an electric battery and shipping products from Yara’s Porsgrunn production plant to Brevik and Larvik in Norway as a start. “Every day, more than 100 diesel truck journeys are needed to transport products from Yara’s Porsgrunn plant to ports in Brevik and Larvik where we ship products to customers around the world,” explained Svein Tore Holsether, president and CEO of Yara. The new vessel will reduce nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions and improve road safety, by…