The US sees decarbonising the shipping industry as a top priority for combating climate change and is willing to go a step further than the International Maritime Organization.
The US president's special climate envoy, John Kerry, said on Tuesday that Washington would focus on helping the global fleet hit net zero emissions in 30 years time.
As it stands, the IMO intends to cut emissions by 50% by 2050 against a 2008 baseline.
"The technology we need to decarbonise shipping is known to us. They need investment. They need to scale up," Kerry said at a web event hosted by the Friends of Ocean and Climate.
"Ultimately, we'll reduce emissions and we'll reduce costs for customers.
"The United States is committing to work with countries in the International Maritime Organization to adopt a goal of zero emissions by global shipping by 2050 and adopt ambitious measures for the entire sector to achieve this goal."
With global shipping responsible for nearly 3% of all global carbon emissions, the IMO has adopted a series of emission-cutting goals.
The first, focused on sulphur emissions, kicked in on 1 January 2020 and forced shipowners to burn either low sulphur fuel or install exhaust gas scrubbers on board.
Ahead of its 2050 goal, the IMO intends to slash carbon intensity from global shipping by 2030.
Kerry's statement at the event, entitled "How ocean-based solutions contribute to net zero", represents a shift in US policy toward shipping and the IMO under new President Joe Biden.
Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, showed little interest in the IMO's decarbonisation push and dropped out of the Paris Agreement which set the goal of keeping the global average temperature below 2 degrees.
On his first day in office, Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement and appointed Kerry to his special envoy post, the first such position focusing on climate change.
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, who also spoke at the event, admitted the US had largely been absent from global efforts on climate change.
"That ends under President Biden's leadership. We are all in on making the case to make this happen," she said, before outlining domestic efforts around renewable energy.
"We want to make up for lost time and then some, but we also know the only way to reach our shared net zero targets is for all of us to move together."
Biden's focus on climate and stated support for domestic shipping have some in Washington speculating that the new administration could view emissions cuts in shipping as an economic opportunity.
Kerry's comments come ahead of the US-led Leaders Summit on Climate set for Thursday and Friday.
Forty world leaders will attend the event with the intention of galvanising support around limiting global warming and mobilising investment in technology to that end.
