Tag: carbon

IMarEST and ICCT provide authoritative definition of BC The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), in association with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), has defined Black Carbon and presentation it definition at a recent IMO Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG). While BC is claimed to be second only to CO2 in terms of climate change until now there had been no definition, making it it difficult to introduce any measure to reduce BC emissions.Black Carbon (BC) is the name given to solid particles emitted during incomplete combustion and is also referred to as 'soot', 'elemental carbon' and 'graphite carbon'. BC contributes to climate change in two ways - first, in the atmosphere where it absorbs sunlight and re-emits the energy as heat. Secondly, when deposited on ice or snow, in addition to warming the surface and air directly, it reduces the surface reflectivity (albedo), causing it to absorb more sunlight.It is believed that, because it is short-lived, remaining in the atmosphere only a few weeks, reducing BC emissions could have a very rapid and significant effect on the rate of warming.IMarEST's Chief Executive, David Loosley said: "The definition arrived at by IMarEST and ICCT ...

IMO BLG 16/15/4 IMO issues document which proposes a definition of Black Carbon, identifiespotential measurement methods, offers evaluation criteria to compare measurement techniques, and suggests an appropriate measurement method for international shipping, based on expert guidance and scientific review.The information provided contributes to the current discussions on Black Carbon by identifying the state of the art for its definition and measurement.For more information, click here.Source: IMO

The Filipino Shipowners Association (FSA) has joined the global call The Filipino Shipowners Association (FSA) has joined the global call for the reduction of greenhouse emissions from international shipping."The Philippines, being the leading provider of nearly 30% of the world's maritime professionals, has a huge stake in any talks affecting the shipping industry. Climate change is an issue that concerns not onlythe shipping industry, but everybody in this planet as well," said Ambassador Carlos C. Salinas, FSA chairman. "The FSA and our members offer our full support for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in its continued efforts in regulating the shipping industry's carbon emissions and we remain positive in our industry's role in addressing the global problem of climate change," said Salinas.As one of the leading and oldest maritime associations in the country, the FSA holds a pivotal role in the development of both the local and overseas shipping sector and the involvement of the Philippines in international maritime affairs.In over 60 years, the FSA has promoted the highest environmental protection standards among its members and sought to cultivate a culture of social responsibility within the country's maritime sector.FSA has joined other internatinal organizations such as Oxfam, the World Wildlife ...

Carbon Group at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory The Carbon Group at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) works to advance our scientific understanding of the ocean carbon cycle and how it is changing over time. PMEL's research includes documenting the evolving state of the ocean carbon chemistry with high quality measurements on ships and autonomous platforms, studying the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle and the processes involved, and investigating how rising atmospheric CO2 and climate change affect the chemistry of the ocean and its marine ecosystems.PMEL's efforts support NOAA's commitment to improve the Nation's ability to anticipate and respond to climate impacts, and to conserve and manage healthy oceans, coastal ecosystems, and marine resources.

Global carbon tax on bunker fuels for the international aviation and shipping industries South Africa could be negatively affected by the proposed global carbon tax on bunker fuels for the international aviation and shipping industries, but there are methods of alleviating this which the government is exploring as part of its negotiating position at the COP17 climate summit.This was revealed by Deputy Minister of Transport Jeremy Cronin, who was speaking at a panel discussion at the launch of a WWF-SA report, "Towards a Green Economy: Envisaging success at COP17" - one of numerous side events at the summit this week.The carbon tax has been proposed as one of the major funding sources for the UN's Green Climate Fund which is designed to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. It is supposed to reach $120 billion by 2020."This (proposed transport tax) has been heavily caucused by WWF, and rightly so," Cronin noted.Although the tax would have negative impacts on some countries like South Africa, Chile and Argentina which had to send their exports long distances to primary markets, there could be a rebate system for developing countries, he suggested."And in our (COP17) negotiating position, we're ...

Countries commit to reduce emissions The U.N.'s top climate official said she expects governments to make a long-delayed decision on whether industrial countries should make further commitments to reduce emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases.Amid fresh warnings of climate-related disasters in the future, delegates from about 190 countries were gathering in Durban for a two-week conference beginning Monday. They hope to break deadlocks on how to curb emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants.Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N. climate secretariat, said Sunday the stakes for the negotiations are high, underscored by new scientific studies.Under discussion was "nothing short of the most compelling energy, industrial, behavioral revolution that humanity has ever seen," she said.Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a hero of the movement that ended apartheid in South Africa, led a rally at a rugby stadium later Sunday urging negotiators to be more ambitious during what were expected to be difficult talks. Unseasonably cold, windy weather kept the crowd to a few hundred spectators.Tutu, dressed in ecumenical purple robes, he said the struggle to end the racist regime in his homeland is now followed by a fight against "another huge enemy, and no country can fight this particular enemy on its own."He chided ...

Even very small changes in the ocean's surface temperature can have an enormous impact elsewhere A new study suggests that the rate of global warming from doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be less than the most dire estimates of some previous studies -- and, in fact, may be less severe than projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in 2007.Authors of the study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation's Paleoclimate Program and published online this week in the journal Science, say that global warming is real and that increases in atmospheric CO2 will have multiple serious impacts.However, the most Draconian projections of temperature increases from the doubling of CO2 are unlikely."Many previous climate sensitivity studies have looked at the past only from 1850 through today, and not fully integrated paleoclimate date, especially on a global scale," said Andreas Schmittner, an Oregon State University researcher and lead author on the Science article. "When you reconstruct sea and land surface temperatures from the peak of the last Ice Age 21,000 years ago -- which is referred to as the Last Glacial Maximum -- and compare it with climate model simulations of that period, you get a much ...

Sustainable development is a top priority The United Nations today launched a campaign ahead of its major conference on sustainable development (Rio+20) in June next year, inviting governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people everywhere to engage in a global conversation about the communities they want to see in the future."Sustainable development is a top priority for a simple reason - it cuts across all the challenges and priorities," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a press briefing this morning. "We know that what we face - food insecurity, water scarcity, energy shortages, climate change, increasing carbon emissions and unhealthy oceans - all these are the priority challenges which we have to address."The campaign - Rio+20: The Future We Want - aims to encourage people to envision how societies can build a future that promotes prosperity for everyone without degrading the planet's natural environment, and to contribute their ideas through various mediums - photos, letters, essays and drawings - which will be combined to form an exhibit at the conference next year, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil."Opportunities like Rio+20 do not come along often," Mr. Ban said. "The Rio+20 conference offers us a unique chance to discuss the challenges which ...

But country's shippers' body warns shipping emissions must be tackled on global scale. The UK government's independent body which identifies how the country can meet national greenhouse gas reduction targets, the Committee on Climate Change, the has recommended that greenhouse gas emissions from shipping should be included in future UK carbon budgets.Currently, the UK is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 based on 1990 levels, but to date international shipping and aviation are not included.The UK's Freight Transport Association (FTA) has welcomed proposals to incorporate the country's share of emissions from international shipping into the Climate Change Act, but has warned that maritime emissions reductions should be tackled at a global level through the International Maritime Organisation, rather then nationally or a regional level otherwise the UK's competitiveness could be damaged.Chris Welsh, FTA's General Manager of Global and European Policy, said: "We support in principle the inclusion of shipping emissions into the Climate Change Act. But shipping is a global industry and we must avoid taking on the burden of reducing emissions alone or else we will be put on an uneven footing with the rest of the world. This would be bad news for the ...

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 ...