Tag: CO2

In advance of a critical intergovernmental meeting next month at the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has called on IMO Member States to give careful consideration to shipowners' concerns about the implementation of an avalanche of new environmental regulations, which are about to impact on ship operations at more or less the same time. ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka, explained: "The shipping industry is not in any way questioning the need for these important new IMO rules and is fully committed to implementation.  But governments need to address some very important issues if they wish to avoid confusion and market distortion." In advance of next month's IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the ICS Board of Directors, which met in London this week, reviewed the solutions that ICS is proposing to governments with respect to the serious implementation concerns associated with entry into force of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention, and new MARPOL regulations to reduce sulphur emissions.  The ICS Board also reviewed the continuing debate at IMO about additional measures to reduce ships' CO2 emissions. Making the Ballast Convention Work "ICS fully supports the objectives of the Ballast Convention and recognises that its ...

Making the Ballast Convention Work In advance of a critical intergovernmental meeting next month at the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has called on IMO Member States to give careful consideration to shipowners' concerns about the implementation of an avalanche of new environmental regulations, which are about to impact on ship operations at more or less the same time.ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka, explained: "The shipping industry is not in any way questioning the need for these important new IMO rules and is fully committed to implementation. But governments need to address some very important issues if they wish to avoid confusion and market distortion."In advance of next month's IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the ICS Board of Directors, which met in London this week, reviewed the solutions that ICS is proposing to governments with respect to the serious implementation concerns associated with entry into force of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention, and new MARPOL regulations to reduce sulphur emissions. The ICS Board also reviewed the continuing debate at IMO about additional measures to reduce ships' CO2 emissions.Making the Ballast Convention Work"ICS fully supports the objectives of the Ballast Convention and recognises that ...

The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2013, propelled by a surge in levels of carbon dioxide. This is according to the World Meteorological Organization's annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, which injected even greater urgency into the need for concerted international action against accelerating and potentially devastating climate change. The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin showed that between 1990 and 2013 there was a 34% increase in radiative forcing - the warming effect on our climate - because of long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. In 2013, concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 142% of the pre-industrial era (1750), and of methane and nitrous oxide 253% and 121% respectively. The observations from WMO's Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) network showed that CO2 levels increased more between 2012 and 2013 than during any other year since 1984. Preliminary data indicated that this was possibly related to reduced CO2 uptake by the earth's biosphere in addition to the steadily increasing CO2 emissions. The WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin reports on atmospheric concentrations - and not emissions - of greenhouse gases. Emissions represent what goes into the atmosphere. Concentrations represent what remains in the atmosphere ...

Record GHG levels impact oceas

BSR's Clean Cargo Working Group's 2014 "Global Maritime Trade Lane Emissions Factors" report-which provides data from more than 2,900 ships, representing around 85 percent of global ocean container capacity-indicates that average carbon-dioxide emissions for global ocean container transport have declined year on year, and by nearly 8 percent between 2012 and 2013. While changes in carrier representation or global trade conditions may account for part of the emissions reductions described in the report, the continued performance improvement is also attributed to carrier fleet efficiency and year-on-year improvements in data quality. The report, which includes data from 23 of the world's leading ocean container carriers, helps global ocean transport providers and their shipping customers to measure, evaluate, and report on environmental performance data. Additionally, for the first time, the report includes aggregated average utilization factors for each trade lane. Users can include this data in carbon-footprint calculations as a more accurate approach to calculating shipment-level transport performance. The analysis of the data over the two-year period assessed show that the average utilization across all the largest trade lanes is close to 70 percent, with some variation from year to year. "By reporting using a standardized methodology, the ocean container sector is ...

Emissions for global ocean container transport declines

The Danish Shipowners' Association expects the new Italian presidency to take the lead in the implementation of the EU's MRV proposals, which will restrict CO2 emissions for shipping. Italy took over the EU presidency from Greece on 1 July, and the Danish shipping industry has great expectations of both the Italians and, naturally, the new parliament, which will get started in earnest after the summer holidays. Italy's tenure marks the beginning of a new presidency trio, consisting of Italy (1 July 2014), Latvia (1 January 2015) and Luxembourg (1 July 2015) respectively. This means that the Italian presidency will set the course for the Council's programme for the next 18 months. For many, the summer has been dominated by the football World Cup. But the Italians in particular must have had plenty of opportunity to prepare themselves for taking on their new EU responsibilities because, as you know, they checked out of the World Cup early in mid-June, following the first round of matches. But there are now also even stronger professional reasons for the Danish shipping industry's great expectations. Apart from putting innovation, competitiveness and employment on the agenda, the Italian presidency also wants to focus more closely on ...

The Danish Shipowners' Association expects the new Italian presidency to take the lead in the implementation of the EU's MRV proposals, which will restrict CO2 emissions for shipping

California Air Resources Board issued a Marine Notice regarding the compliance with the California Ocean-Going Vessel Fuel Regulation1 during the Air Resources Board Sunset Review Process as follows: The California Ocean-Going Vessel (OGV) Fuel Regulation includes a sunset provision2 which states that the requirements of the California OGV Fuel Regulation will cease to apply if the United States adopts and enforces requirements that will achieve equivalent emissions reductions to the California OGV Fuel Regulation within Regulated California Waters. The provision further states that the California OGV Fuel Regulation requirements will remain in effect until the Executive Officer issues written findings that the federal requirements will achieve equivalent emission reductions and are being enforced within Regulated California Waters. In accordance with this provision, Air Resources Board (ARB) staff is conducting a sunset review as allowed by the California OGV Fuel Regulation. During ARB staff’s sunset review, which is expected to extend beyond January 2015, the California OGV Fuel Regulation will remain in effect and will continue to be enforced. Vessel operators must ensure that they meet both the California OGV Fuel Regulation and the North American Emission Control Area (ECA Regulation) 3 requirements. We do not anticipate any undue difficulty for vessel ...

According to a new report ‘High Seas: High Stakes' released by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at The University of Manchester, avoiding dangerous levels of climate change requires a radical rethink of the shipping system. If global shipping is to make its fair contribution to avoiding the 2°C of warming associated with dangerous climate change, CO2 emissions need to be cut within the next decade and fall by at least 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels, say the authors. The report's findings highlight that much more needs to be done even to just curb the rate of growth in emissions, with slow-steaming - where ships run at lower speeds during their voyages in order to reduce fuel burn - an essential part of the push towards cutting CO2. It also highlights the importance of looking at the bigger picture: one high profile policy area currently in the minds of the shipping industry is how to cut the sulphur content of fuels. New regulations that encourage the uptake of fuels that are lower in sulphur, such as low sulphur diesel, may ultimately release higher levels of CO2. Wind-assisted propulsion, in conjunction with other technologies, is one option that ...