Tag: GHG

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 ...

Increasing amounts of long-lived greenhouse gase NOAA's updated Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI), which measures the direct climate influence of many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, shows a continued steady upward trend that began with the Industrial Revolution of the 1880s.Started in 2004, the AGGI reached 1.29 in 2010. That means the combined heating effect of long-lived greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere by human activities has increased by 29 percent since 1990, the "index" year used as a baseline for comparison. This is slightly higher than the 2009 AGGI, which was 1.27, when the combined heating effect of those additional greenhouse gases was 27 percent higher than in 1990."The increasing amounts of long-lived greenhouse gases in our atmosphere indicate that climate change is an issue society will be dealing with for a long time," said Jim Butler, director of the Global Monitoring Division of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. "Climate warming has the potential to affect most aspects of society, including water supplies, agriculture, ecosystems and economies. NOAA will continue to monitor these gases into the future to further understand the impacts on our planet."The AGGI is analogous to the dial on an ...

Between 2008 and 2009,shipping emissions fell by 10 percent Transport pollution fell for a second year in 2009 in European countries as recession cut demand, clearing the way for a social shift from the assumption car ownership is almost a necessity, the head of the European Environment Agency said.Published on Thursday, the latest report from the EEA, an arm of the European Union, found emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants from transport had fallen.Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the EEA, which covers EU countries and some neighboring states, said the two years of decline had the potential to mark a permanent change after more than a decade of rising transport emissions."Now we need to see a more fundamental shift in Europe's transport system so that emissions do not increase even in times of strong growth," she said.In this sense, the deep economic crisis in Europe could be an opportunity."I'm not saying it's going to be a Nirvana, but we can begin to see the sector's transformation," she told Reuters in an interview."That car ownership is not a necessity is what Europe has to face," she said. "As people become less financially secure, car sharing might be a good option."The ...

UK is committed to cutting all its climate-changing emissions by 80%by 2050 Greenhouse gas emissions from shipping should be included in the UK's climate change budgets, the Committee on Climate Change has recommended.Under the Climate Change Act, the UK is committed to cutting all its climate-changing emissions by 80% - based on 1990 levels - by 2050.But international aviation and shipping emissions are not currently included.If the government agrees, it will mean tighter targets for other sectors such as motoring and electricity generation."Shipping could account for up to 10% of emissions allowed under the 2050 target, and that says this is a material issue," said Committee on Climate Change (CCC) chief executive David Kennedy.The CCC's report says there are many ways for shipping to curb its carbon footprint - by improving fuel efficiency, deploying kites or sails, or allocating vessels more efficiently.Some companies are already developing such techniques.Tight budgets The CCC has recommended - and the government has adopted - a series of carbon budgets setting down the maximum scale of greenhouse gas emissions that the UK can emit over successive five-year periods.They are designed as staging posts on the way to the 2050 target.If the government does agree to ...

The largest and the greenest Post Panamax Vessel to be built SCOD Presents Deliverance, a DynaWing Solar Hybrid Supertanker that qualifies as the Largest and by far the Greenest Post Panamax Vessel to be built and as such the most Economical form of Crude Oil Transport to and from any part of the Globe.To reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions by up to 75% this superior fluid dynamic Emax Supertanker obtains half of her power from LNG and the other half from the latest advances in Solar and Wind Power technology .The Emax Deliverance is a 2 million barrel 330,000DWT Supertanker designed specifically for the newly enlarged locks of the Panama Canal which will accommodate vessels that have a maximum length of 1,395 ft (426m), a beam of 176 ft (54m) and a draft 59 ft (18m).Being longer, narrower and having less draft than previous 2 million barrel VLCC's, the hull of Deliverance produces less drag which in conjunction with twin CRP Hybrid Propulsion Pods reduces fuel consumption and GHG emissions by 35%. An additional 20 to 30% reduction is achieved with her 500,000 sq. meter DynaWing boom furling sails and another 15 to 20% reduction by her Solbian Solar ...

Validation and verification of GHG projects RINA issues New Guidelines regarding Validation and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Assertions as follows:These Guidelines define the procedures applied by RINA to validate and verify assertions related to greenhouse gases (GHG), as for example:* validation and verification of GHG projects;* verification of GHG inventories and of initiatives aimed at improving GHG management.Validation and verification of GHG assertions are performed according to the validation and verification criteria/requirements of an agreedsystem/scheme, these Guidelines and any additional elements indicated by the supervisory body of the system/scheme or by the accreditationbody.For every scheme relative to a GHG assertion, RINA can publish specific rules integrating the requirements of these Guidelines.For more information, click hereSource: RINA

Scientists are able to understand the consequences of increases in greenhouse gases New research from the University of Missouri indicates that Atlantic Ocean temperatures during the greenhouse climate of the Late Cretaceous Epoch were influenced by circulation in the deep ocean. These changes in circulation patterns 70 million years ago could help scientists understand the consequences of modern increases in greenhouse gases."We are examining ocean conditions from several past greenhouse climate intervals so that we can understand better the interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, the biosphere, and climate," said Kenneth MacLeod, professor of geological sciences in the College of Arts and Science."The Late Cretaceous Epoch is a textbook example of a greenhouse climate on earth, and we have evidence that a northern water mass expanded southwards while the climate was cooling.At the same time, a warm, salty water mass that had been present throughout the greenhouse interval disappeared from the tropical Atlantic."The study found that at the end of the Late Cretaceous greenhouse interval, water sinking around Greenland was replaced by surface water flowing north from the South Atlantic.This change caused the North Atlantic to warm while the rest of the globe cooled. The change started about five million ...

Outline of latest IMO GHG Decisions and Environmental Legislation Flemming Sandstrøm, Senior Marine Technical Officer, BIMCO, is giving a presentation regarding the Outline of latest IMO GHG Decisions and Environmental Legislation, during the 2nd Annual Safety4Sea Forum, Session 2The 2nd Safety4Sea Forum, a PRO BONO event, successfully completed on 5th of October 2011 in Athens, covering a wide range in QHSE issues.The event has been attended by over 340 delegates at the venue representing more than 170 companies, plus more than 100 persons watching live streaming. The event organized by IBS Marine Consulting Group and sponsored by Aspida Maritime Security, Dorian Hellas, Transmar Shipping and Lloyd's Register and supported by BIMCO, Intermanager, SaveOurSeafarers campaign, Steamship Mutual, Green Award, Cardiff University, ELNAVI, NAFTIKA XRONIKA, Tanker Operator, Shipmanagement International and Marintech NewsFor more information about the Forum visithttp://www.safety4sea.com/forum/2For more information about Safety4Sea visit the official site http://www.safety4sea.com

If these rate levels continue, oil industry will be threatended At last week's INTERTANKO's Council Members meeting, deep concern was expressed over the current parlous state of tanker market rates."If these rate levels continue for a long period, then this could lead to a situation where sustainability of the oil transportation industry is threatened," said INTERTANKO's chairman, Capt Graham Westgarth, who was re-elected as chairman for another two years."Our members operate tankers to the highest standards and will continue to do so. Operating for a prolonged period in an environment where tanker owners are not even covering their operating costs is obviously not a situation that can be maintained," he said.Turning to the problem of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from tankers, the committee welcomed the adoption by IMO of amendments to the MARPOL Convention mandating energy efficiency measures (EEDI/SEEMP regulations) on vessels.The meeting advocated that:In the implementation of the EEDI requirements, there should be a 'level playing field' and that the EEDI requirements should apply equally to all ships on the same effective date.Compliance with EEDI should focus on improved hull design, propulsion efficiency and energy optimisation, rather than predominantly on reduced speed designs.Any measures taken to comply with ...

New ships are able to cut GHG emissions by 50 % The Royal Bank of Canada and the Supply Chain & Logistics Association Canada have released a report that identifies environmental sustainability as a key issue faced by the country, but one that offers significant opportunities for Canada's transportation and logistics companies.The report entitled, Focus Forward: Enhancing Supply Chain Value with Green Logistics & Transportation, highlighted environmental sustainability issues within the shipping, air, road, rail and truck transportation industries, and how distribution and transportation companies can enhance competitiveness in an increasingly global business environment.In terms of marine transportation, the report praised the shipping sector for its ability to mass transport goods with tremendous energy efficiency."It is also relatively clean in comparison to other modes, emitting less carbon dioxide per tonne-kilometer than air or truck transport," said David Bolduc, executive director of Green Marine in Quebec.However, the marine mode as a whole still has a significant environmental impact, the report added.Marine transport uses heavier fuels which emit more sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter when burned.International marine shipping, along with aviation are the only two industries not covered by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol because their greenhouse gas emissions cannot be ...