Tag: carbon

The Paris climate change agreement should not leave out aviation and shipping, two sectors whose emissions are rocketing and, if left unregulated, could account for up to 40% of all global emissions by 2050, said the EP Delegation at COP21

Whatever the outcomes at UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris the shipping sector faces a huge challenge of rapid decarbonisation, the International Windship Association says

CMA CGM has improved its Carbon performance by 50% thanks to an efficient environmental policy sustained by deploying innovative solutions

BG Group has joined the World Bank Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), an initiative which supports carbon pricing systems and policies.

European shipowners note Wednesday’s European Parliament resolution, which constitutes the mandate for the EP delegation to the Paris COP 21 meeting in December, and issue a warning call.MEPs call for all Parties to work through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to develop a global policy framework to enable an effective response, and to take measures to set adequate targets before the end of 2016 for achieving the necessary reductions in the light of the 2 °C target.Commenting on the resolution, Patrick Verhoeven, ECSA Secretary General said:“We are happy to see that the European Parliament recognises the importance of a global solution for international shipping and gives a vote of confidence to the IMO, which should be allowed to pursue its efforts.””We are however also concerned by the deadline adopted by MEPs on Wednesday. 2016 is right around the corner and as such it is rather unrealistic to expect the IMO to come up with a solution in a matter of months. A unilateral European push for a hard deadline may be counterproductive.” continued Patrick Verhoeven, referring to the need for global rules for the shipping, an industry as international as few others.The IMO’s track record in developing technical CO2 energy ...

 The EU and its member states must call for a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and scale up climate finance commitments at the COP21 UN climate talks in Paris, Parliament said on Wednesday. MEPs also say a share of revenues from the EU's carbon market allowances should be earmarked for climate finance, and the aviation and shipping sectors should initiate measures to curb their emissions by the end of 2016.'We are facing the fight of the century. If we do not succeed in preventing global warming from exceeding 2 degrees C by the end of the century we will see many more droughts, floods, melting glaciers and the disappearance of more and more farm land. Climate change will also be a factor in increasing the migration problem,' said Gilles Pargneaux (S&D, FR), who drew up the resolution, which was adopted by 434 votes to 96, with 52 abstentions.'The financial issue is and will be the cornerstone of an agreement in Paris. This is why we are calling for a clear roadmap from the member states so that we know how to finance the green fund from 2020. Fixing a carbon price at global level would also help ...

 The  International Transport Forum (ITF) has issued a policy brief to argue that IMO should impose a carbon tax for shipping and to call for immediate action to halve shipping emissions by 2050.At a glanceCurrent measures will mitigate ship emissions to some extent, mainly through better energy efficiency of ships.Lower speeds, higher utilisation, better ship designs and alternative energy sources can further reduce ship emissions.Sectoral and institutional complexities must be overcome to create impact.A target for shipping emissions, an action plan for implementation and a carbon tax for shipping, the receipts of which could feed into the Green Climate Fund are needed.The facts International shipping contributed to around 0.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions globally in 2012. This represented 2.2% of worldwide carbon emissions. Of these, 62% came from three sorts of ships: container ships, bulk carriers and tankers (2012 figures).Since 1990, shipping emissions have doubled, despite a 10% decrease during the economic downturn between 2007 and 2012. The CO2 emissions from maritime transport in 2050 are projected to be between 50% and 250% higher than current levels, depending on how global trade increases in different scenarios. This would mean that shipping emissions in 2050 could represent up to 14% of ...

 The Chamber of Marine Commerce, a bi-national group of Canadian and American shipping stakeholders, issued a release last week urging industry figures and government officials to consider the environmental advantages of marine shipping and the challenges facing the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence segment of the industry as they consider carbon-offsetting measures. “Unlike the global shipping fleet, most domestic shipping competes directly with road and rail,” Chamber of Marine Commerce President Stephen Brooks said. “The more we unnecessarily burden this short-sea shipping with extra costs, the greater likelihood this freight moves to less environmentally friendly modes. We also need to think about the negative impact of thousands -- even millions -- of more heavy trucks on our overburdened highways and in neighborhoods where our families live, work and play.” The Chamber of Marine Commerce made its call as several important environmental events are underway, including the Ontario government’s development of a cap-and-trade system and national government’s preparations for December’s United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting. “Canadian ship owners are investing over $2 billion in new Great Lakes ships and technologies that significantly further reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse gases and air emissions,” Canada Steamship Lines President Allister Paterson said.Source: Canadian Chamber of Marine CommerceIn the ...

 Drawing on experiences with carbon pricing initiatives around the world, new research lays out principles for governments and businesses to develop successful and cost-effective schemes to put a price on social costs of greenhouse gas emissions.The research by the World Bank Group, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD), with input from the International Monetary Fund, says that well designed carbon pricing schemes are a powerful and flexible tool that can cut emissions causing climate change. At the same time, a new World Bank Group report, State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2015, shows the number of implemented or planned carbon pricing schemes around the world has almost doubled since 2012, and is now worth about $50 billion.“The world needs to find effective ways to reduce carbon pollution,” said World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim.“We must design the best ways to price carbon in order to help cut pollution, improve people’s health, and provide governments with a pool of funds to drive investment in a cleaner future and to protect poor people.”“With COP21 fast approaching, the need for meaningful carbon policies is more important than ever. Carbon pricing is central to the quest for a cost-effective transition towards zero net emissions in ...