Tag: carbon

  In early June,  major oil and gas companies, BG Group plc, BP plc, Eni S.p.A., Royal Dutch Shell plc, Statoil ASA and Total SA, announced their call to governments around the world and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to introduce carbon pricing systems and create clear, stable, ambitious policy frameworks that could eventually connect national systems. These would reduce uncertainty and encourage the most cost effective ways of reducing carbon emissions widely. The six companies set out their position in a joint letter from their chief executives to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary and the President of the COP21. This comes ahead of the UNFCCC’s COP21 climate meetings in Paris this December. With this unprecedented joint initiative, the companies recognize both the importance of the climate challenge and the importance of energy to human life and well-being. They acknowledge the current trend of greenhouse gas emissions is in excess of what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says is needed to limit global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees Centigrade, and say they are ready to contribute solutions. As the chief executives write:“Our industry faces a challenge: we need to meet greater energy ...

With more than half the world's CO2 emissions generated by the transportation sector, a new International Workshop Agreement (IWA) from ISO represents a major step towards reducing emissions from freight transport. As billions of tonnes of goods are shipped around the globe to meet consumers’ seasonal tastes and demands, international freight transport has become increasingly important for worldwide deliveries. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), of the 28 % of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the transportation sector, approximately 30 % come from freight. Without action, the threat to the environment may only worsen. The recently published IWA 16 defines the framework for coherent methods to quantify CO2 emissions of freight transport (total and intensity). It provides a gap analysis identifying starting points and recommending further specification and possible alignment on mode-specific and intermodal levels, including transhipment centres and warehouses. According to Dr. Verena Ehrler and Alan Lewis, Chairs of the group that developed IWA 16, the added value of the Agreement is the thorough scientific comparison it makes of currently existing standards against the industry and stakeholder perspective, thus building a valid and practical foundation for the development of a global standard for emissions calculation in freight transport ...

Speaking at the 4th Shipping and Offshore Corporate and Social Responsibility Forum, the Secretary General of the Global Shippers' Forum outlined the need for transparency of maritime carbon emissions and interventions, saying it is essential in order that shippers can identify their carbon footprint. After presenting at the CSR event, Chris Welsh, GSF's Secretary General said: "Leading edge shippers, charters and carriers are making substantial progress in establishing common methodologies for measuring, recording and verifying carbon emissions.  The drive is led by customers who are calling for greater transparency in carbon emissions data to benchmark the energy efficiency of carriers so that they cannot only identify their supply chain emissions, but also to take appropriate interventions to reduce supply chain carbon emissions." Entitled 'Driving Transformation through the value chain - the demand for CSR by Shippers' the GSF presentation referred to comments from leading shippers and their motivation of working towards that goal: Reporting carbon emissions within logistics supply chains is essential to demonstrate to customers that businesses are managed in a sustainable way    Being at the forefront of changes in their market sectors Consumers and customers associate brands with doing business in an environmentally ethical way - ie ...

The Ministry of The Environment And Water Resources of Singapore has questioned the methodology used in the WWF report, and stressed Singapore’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions. The ministry stated that the report fails to recognise Singapore’s unique circumstances as a small island city-state with no hinterland and it does not give due recognition to Singapore’s real environmental achievements, including  long-standing commitment to sustainable development and resource efficiency. The report also allocated international marine and aviation bunker emissions to each country in proportion to the country’s share of international trade volume, a practice not shared by other agencies such as UNFCC and International Energy Agency. The ministry said that this results in a gross over-estimation of Singapore’s per capita carbon footprint as Singapore sits on a vital global shipping route and has one of the busiest transhipment ports in the world Source: Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources In the starting, I was forthright with you propecia before and after has changed my existence. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is incredible to sit.

The CMA CGM Group announced that it has acquired more than 7,000 of last generation 40’ High Cube Reefer containers including 6,000 low consumption engines. The CMA CGM Group regularly invests in the most innovative Reefer containers. These Reefer containers will reduce carbon print by 60% compare to the first generation’s Reefers, they will allow a precise controlling of the cold chain and they will optimize the atmosphere control, operating a phytosanitary cold treatment needed for perishable goods and lengthen significantly their shelf life. CMA CGM is able to transport fruits and vegetables, frozen food, wine, flowers and pharmaceutical products in optimum conditions. In a growing market which requires a specific know how, the CMA CGM expertise and its investments allow the Group to increase its Reefers volume by 13%. With its Reefer fleet of 185, 000 TEU, the CMA CGM Group is ranked second carrier and carry 850 000 TEU per year. CMA CGM objective is to transport one million 20’ reefer containers before 2015. Alexis Michel, Senior Vice President Logistics & Reefer, explains: “These investments strengthen CMA CGM’s leader’s position in Reefer transport which will become the most important vehicle of sensitive goods transport in the following years ...

On 21-22 May, the Arctic Council's Task Force for Action on Black Carbon and Methane met for the fourth time. The task force, which is co-chaired by Canada and Sweden, has the mandate to "develop arrangements on actions to achieve enhanced black carbon and methane emission reductions in the Arctic, and report at the next Ministerial meeting in 2015". On 21-22 May, the Arctic Council's Task Force for Action on Black Carbon and Methane (task force) met for the fourth time. The task force, which is co-chaired by Canada and Sweden, has the mandate to "develop arrangements on actions to achieve enhanced black carbon and methane emission reductions in the Arctic, and report at the next Ministerial meeting in 2015". It provides a forum in which the knowledge and experience of the Arctic states, Permanent Participants, and working groups can be collected and shared. The task force is seeking to advance actions that address near-term warming of the Arctic and improve the health of Arctic inhabitants affected by emissions of black carbon. The agenda for this meeting included discussions of the inter-sessional work conducted by the Arctic states, exploring such issues as the creation of peer-learning systems to ensure that ...

On 21-22 May, the Arctic Council's Task Force for Action on Black Carbon and Methane met for the fourth time

A sustainable biofuel made from Norwegian forest wood waste could help transform the shipping industry and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions Alternative sustainable fuels are urgently needed in the marine transport sector due to stringent upcoming regulations demanding reduced sulphur and carbon content in diesels and oils from January 2015. Aston University scientists are involved in the ReShip project, which will use low quality wood waste, chippings and unmerchantable wood left in forests after logging has occurred to produce new biofuels. Via the process of fast pyrolysis, where material is heated in the absence of oxygen, the wood will be converted into crude pyrolysis oil. Compared to petroleum-based oil, however, crude pyrolysis oil cannot be used for direct use in diesel engines as it is too unstable. To counter this, the Aston team, led by Professor Tony Bridgwater, will look to stabilise freshly produced pyrolysis biofuel through mild, rapid, low temperature catalytic hydrogen treatment. In cooperation with the Paper and Fibre Research Institute in Norway they will also seek to blend the bio-oil with conventional diesel and surfactant to form a multi-component fuel. The most promising fuels will then be engine tested to assess their quality and use for potential marine transport. Professor ...

A sustainable biofuel made from Norwegian forest wood waste could help transform the shipping industry and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions

The ICCT has showed interest in improving our ability to assess ships' carbon footprint. Therefore, ITCC teamed up with researchers at the University of College London on a novel way around those limitations using the Satellite Automatic Identification System (S-AIS). S-AIS is a tracking system used to identify and locate vessels. The IMO International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, passed in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic, now requires that every ship larger than 300 gross tons be equipped with an S-AIS transponder that transmits ship identification, speed, and location every few seconds. This almost continuous stream of data enables researchers to calculate ship speed and therefore CO2 emissions with greater resolution and confidence. The data also offer an improved picture of shipping routes across the globe. The initial results of this research indicate that ship speeds are substantially lower than previously thought and that in-use ship efficiency varied greatly even within individual ship types. Ship movement in August 2011, as recorded by the Satellite Automatic Identification System (S-AIS). The velocity of the dots in the video reflects ship speed. The onboard S-AIS transponder electronically transmitted ship information, location, and speed to satellite, which monitors and tracks ship locations ...