Using LNG as a fuel in ocean-going vessels will not be enough for operators, in order to comply with the emissions regulations that are coming into force. Shipping industry needs to find other ways of reducing emissions. Even if the entire shipping industry switched to LNG, it would still be far from its CO2 reduction targets.
The resurgence in oil and gas production from the United States, deep declines in the cost of renewables and growing electrification are changing the face of the global energy system and upending traditional ways of meeting energy demand, according to IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2017.
The European inland shipping sector has signed the Declaration of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, on 13 April, reflecting the commitment of the sector to expedite the greening process in the years ahead, to uphold its competitiveness vis-à-vis road and rail transport, as well as to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2030.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority called the Dutch Government to create a coalition with countries in North-West Europe, so that a joint CO2 price can be introduced. The Port Authority also announced an incentive of in total 5 million euros for vessel operators experimenting with low-carbon or zero-carbon fuels.
The excess carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere through the combustion of fossil fuels interferes with the health of phytoplankton, which form the base of marine food webs, according to scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and the J. Craig Venter Institute.
Ahead of critical meetings at the IMO, regarding the reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which will start on 3 April, the International Chamber of Shipping says that governments must compromise to help IMO agree on an ambitious strategy for the reduction of CO2 emissions by shipping.
Carbon emissions continue to grow in the energy transition scenario, highlighting the need for a more decisive break from the past, says Spencer Dale, group chief economist, on the occasion of the recently launched BP Energy Outlook 2018.
A consortium of companies comprising Air Liquide, AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals, Enerkem and the Port of Rotterdam Authority signed a development agreement for the initial investments in a waste-to-chemistry plant in Rotterdam. This will be the first plant of this type in Europe to offer a sustainable alternative for waste incineration, by converting plastic and mixed waste into new raw materials for industry.
In July 2017, California’s state legislature passed a bill to extend the state’s economy-wide GHG reduction program, until 2030. The bill sets a new GHG target, aiming at least 40% below the 1990 level of emissions by 2030. According to the current cap-and-trade program, emissions sources include electric generators, industrial facilities, and oil and natural gas distributors.
The planet’s average surface temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, a little more than 1 degree Celsius, during the last century, mostly because of increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.
