Danish shipping giant Maersk Line has set a "bold target" to reduce CO2 emissions 60 per cent per container by the end of the decade.

The company has stated that its emission reduction plan will cut 200 million tons of CO2, the amount produced by all the passenger cars in France in one year.

The announcement comes after Maersk chief commercial officer Stephen Schueler launched the company's 2014 Sustainability Update at a session dedicated to environmental supply chains in Rhode Island.

Said Maersk Line eco chief Signe Bruun Jensen: "We lead the way in doing more with less. We have set a bold target," he said.

Maersk claims to have reduced emissions of its fleet by 40 per cent, putting it around 10 per cent ahead of the rest of the shipping industry.