Some of the world's largest retailers have made a commitment to only using zero carbon shipping by 2040.
Amazon, Ikea, Michelin, Unilever and others have made the commitment at the Aspen Institute, a corporate decarbonisation group, under its newly formed Cargo Owners for Zero Emission Vessels group.
Aspen Institute chief executive Dan Porterfield described the commitment as a "historic step in the fight against climate change".
"Maritime shipping, like all sectors of the global economy, needs to decarbonise rapidly if we are to solve the climate crisis, and multinational companies will be key actors in catalysing a clean energy transition in shipping," he said.
Shipping currently accounts for around 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but the shipping group said that figure is set to balloon to 10% by 2050 unless action is taken.
The International Maritime Organization is currently committed to develop regulation to cut shipping carbon emissions by 50%, compared to 2008 levels, by 2040.
The Cargo Owners for Zero Emissions Vessels group wants governments to take action to decarbonise the shipping industry by 2040.
Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld, sustainability manager supply chain operations at Ikea, said: "We need to speed up the transformation towards zero emission ocean shipping. By collaborating with like-minded partners, companies, and organisations across the value chain we can create strong movements."
However, green lobby groups suggested the Aspen Institute's commitment is still not sufficient to combat global warming and keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Green group Stand.earth's shipping campaigns director Kendra Ulrich said the shippers should bring forward their target date by 10 years.
"Today's pledge is an important guidepost for the future of maritime shipping, but 2040 is simply too distant a horizon for the retail sector to address the enormous health and climate impacts from its cargo ships," she said.
"If major retail brands truly want to do their fair share on climate change, they need to be on a course correction now, not 19 years from now," she said.
The Ship it to Zero coalition and the Pacific Environment groups are calling for zero emission ships by 2030.
