Global warming could be about to trigger a renaissance of the age of sail
The Committee on Climate Change has called on the shipping industry to turn to wind power to cut the country’s carbon emissions.
It believes harnessing the natural energy could prove make shipping environmentally more friendly.
Sail enjoyed its heyday in the 19th century when clippers crossed the seas carrying goods and passengers.
The bulk of ships had three masts, though a few had five masts. However by the 20th century sail had been superseded by steam.
Now the Committee wants the industry to go back to the future by “updating propulsion systems”, which would see ships fitted with sails, including a new rigid design resembling aircraft wings or large “towing kites”.
The Committee’s interest has been underpinned by a five-year study carried out by the Technical University of Berlin.
It found that ships using sails as well as other conventional wind power achieved savings as high as 44 per cent.
Shipping could also cut its emissions by using special paint on hulls to reduce friction and saving fuel by travelling slower.
“There is a wide range of technology which can be used to cut emissions,” said David Baltson, the British Chamber of Shipping’s director of safety and environment.
“Slow steaming is one option. Already, because of the price of fuel, ships are cutting their speed. A container vessel which was going at 25 knots, has slowed down to 19 knots, achieving fuel cuts of 30 to 40 per cent, this has added four to five days on a voyage from the Far East.
The committee, which advises the Government on climate change, wants Britain to be the first country to include shipping emissions in its calculation of greenhouse gases.
Its proposals, which include imposing a tax on shipping fuel, are part of a package aimed at cutting emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
David Kennedy, the committee’s chief executive, said shipping had to be included because they were “too big and too worrying to forget about”.
With carbon emissions in other industries being reduced as the Government moved to meet its international climate obligations, shipping could account for 11 per cent of Britain’s total greenhouse gases by 2050.
The proposals, which could see a tax on shipping fuel, alarmed the Chamber of Shipping. It warned that imposing the measures unilaterally, would “distort trade” and damage an industry which contributed 760 million to the Exchequer.
The proposals were welcomed by Friends of the Earth. “Leaving out the UK’s share of international shipping from our climate targets would be like an alcoholic giving up all booze except whisky.” said the group’s environmental campaigner, Richard Dyer.
“Ignoring the growing climate impact of shipping would be a titanic mistake which could sink our ability to develop a safe and prosperous future.
“The international community must also take urgent action to ensure the shipping industry plays its part in a low-carbon transport system.”
Source: The Telegraph