Tag: GHG

A brief overview of the mandatory measures A brief overview of the mandatory measures to reduce emissions of greenhouses gases (GHGs) from international shipping explained by IMO's Marine Environment Divison Director, Jo Espinoza-Ferrey.

SEAaT believes emissions trading system is the fairest to reduce GHG emissions Major international legal practice Norton Rose LLP and the freight services division of global mining group Rio Tinto have joined SEAaT (Shipping Emissions Abatement and Trading), the industry association dedicated to shipping emissions abatement and trading, as associate members.In marked contrast to the principal shipowners organisation, the International Chamber of Shipping, SEAaT believes emissions trading system is the fairest, most transparent and effective means of reducing GHG emissions, in particular since it would ensure volume emissions reduction over time across the sector. However it shares some common ground with the shipowners in also believing that shipping regulation must remain within the remit of the IMO and apply to all ships regardless of flag.John Aitken, Secretary General, SEAaT, said: To have the support of two large international groups is a great step forward for us at such a crucial time for the industry. The shipping industry needs to ensure any regulations introduced are not only good for the environment but also good for business. Norton Rose LLP and Rio Tinto Marine are certain to play key roles in discussions by joining SEAaT.Philip Roche, London based partner at Norton Rose ...

Looking for clues as to industry's regulatory future Many in shipping have been looking for clues as to industry's regulatory future in the election this week of a new chief of International Maritime Organization (IMO), Japan's Koji Sekimizu, currently director of the IMO's maritime safety division.On the thorny issue of greenhouse-gas (GHG) regulation, the IMO is currently exploring market-based measures (MBMs) to cut emissions and mulling a decision to make energy efficiency standards in ship design and operation mandatory. It appears any big decisions on market measures for international shipping will be made under the Sekimizu reign between 2012 and 2015.It is hard to gauge how his appointment will affect the direction of such regulation. Certainly, he can't be seen to be using his position to push Japan's MBM proposal for a bunker levy scheme designed to reward energy efficiency in ships. As to Semikizu's ability to oversee resolution in shipping's GHG emissions challenge, which has eluded his predecessors up to now, opinions differ.Lloyds List comments: "As a long-time insider Mr Semikizu might not be the Richard Branson-style candidate to shake up the organisation, as many people appeared to favour in a Lloyd's List's poll. But he is highly respected ...

A global solution to limiting greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry The European Union would prefer to have a global solution to limiting greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry, officials said from Brussels.European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas met with Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard to discuss mechanisms intended to reduce greenhouse emissions from the shipping industry."For a global sector such as maritime transport, measures which are the most environmentally effective and make economic sense can best be achieved through the International Maritime Organization," Kallas said in a statement.Hedegaard agreed, saying it was "high time" for the IMO to broker an agreement. "Much as we prefer a global solution, the member states and the European Parliament have asked the commission to present a possible proposal to reduce shipping emissions for 2012 in the case that the IMO fails to find a solution," she said.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in a related measure this week launched an initiative aimed at reducing pollution from the long-haul trucks that service U.S. ports.European leaders are expected to call for the adoption of an energy efficient index developed by the IMO at its next environmental protection conference in July.European member states agreed to ...

A big challenge for the shipping industry Porta in united Kingdom can play a major role in reducing carbon emissions despite the fact that they are one of the least polluting links in the maritime supply chain.University of Hull has conducted a new study which found that port companies could be drivers of change in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the industry's supply chains.The study, presented at the Low Carbon Shipping 2011 International Conference in Glasgow last week, looked at the environmental actions taking place in UK ports and compared them with initiatives abroad. Researchers mapped the activity of 72 UK port locations and compared these Activities with those carried out by leading ports overseas.The findings revealed that carbon emissions from ports and port-related activity are small compared with emissions from ships and the haulage companies that serve them.According to the study's preliminary results, in 2008, the added emissions from five large UK ports groups represented a small percentage of those generated by the ships calling at these same ports: 174,000 tonnes from port operations and approximately 10m tonnes from international shipping.In 2007, international shipping accounted for 870m tonnes of carbon, or 2.7% of global emissions, whereas international aviation accounted ...

Aims to the reduction of GHG emissions from ships A broad church around a single purpose In recent years, discussions at IMO have resulted in the development of an Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) that has the broad and emphatic support of Governments, industry associations and organizations representing civil society interests. All are united in the same purpose: to ensure that the EEDI delivers environmental effectiveness by generating, through enhanced energyefficiency measures, significant reductions in GHG emissions from ships.Numerous stakeholders - policy-makers, shipowners, naval architects, class societies, etc. - are contributing to this endeavour, providing technical and other input to the debate. On the eve of adopting the 'first iteration' of the EEDI, this broad (but united) church of interests has developed an instrument that is eminently suited for its intended purpose.Enhancing energy efficiencyShipping is permanently engaged in efforts to optimize fuel consumption. And, while ships are universally recognized as the most fuel-efficient mode of bulk transportation, the Second IMO GHG Study, in 2009, identified a significant potential for further improvements in energy efficiency, mainly through the use of already existing technologies such as more efficient engines and propulsion systems, improved hull designs and larger ships:or, in other words, through ...

Each individual should become aware G S Jayadev, secretary of Deena Bandhu Trust has said cutting down the greenhouse gases (GHG) was essential to protect the environment and reverse the effect of global warming.In his address at the World Environment Day organised at Dr B R Ambedkar hall on Sunday, he said every individual should become aware about the global warming and its effects.Each citizen should think about the future generations and protect the Earth. The global warming is resulting in the melting of glaciers and rise in sea levels. The deforestation is also bringing down the number of protected wild animals like tigers and others. The forest should be protected to maintain the ecological balance, he said.Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Amar Narayana called upon for stoping the use of plastics to make the environment clean. The women have a greater role in protecting the environment by way of educating the entire family, he said. He informed that though the district administration has not banned the use of plastics, but wants to curtail its use through public support.The Environment Day was jointly organised by the district administration, the Zilla Panchayat, City Municipal Council, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and the forest department. ZP ...

High emissions from fossil fuels Despite 20 years of effort, greenhouse gas emissions are going up instead of down, hitting record highs as climate negotiators gather to debate a new global warming accord.The new report by the International Energy Agency showing high emissions from fossil fuels is one of several pieces of bad news facing delegates from about 180 countries heading to Bonn, Germany, for two weeks of talks beginning Monday.The tsunami-triggered nuclear disaster in March apparently has sidelined Japan's aggressive policies to combat climate change and prompted countries like Germany to hasten the decommissioning of nuclear power stations which, regardless of other drawbacks, have nearly zero carbon emissions."Japan's energy future is in limbo," says analyst Endre Tvinnereim of the consultancy firm Point Carbon. The fallout from the catastrophe has "put climate policy further down the priority list," and the short-term effect in Japan - one of the world's most carbon-efficient countries - will be more burning of fossil fuels, he said. And despite the expansion of renewable energy around the world, the Paris-based IEA's report said energy-related carbon emissions last year topped 30 gigatons, 5 percent more than the previous record in 2008.With energy investments locked into coal- and ...

The worlds drive to limit emissions and halt temperatures increases are likely to fail The bleak statistics, compiled by the International Energy Agency (IEA), will prompt fears the world's drive to limit emissions and halt temperatures increases are likely to fail.Despite a high level push by governments to limit global warming, unprecedented levels of carbon were released into the air over the past 12 months, the unpublished figures have disclosed.The IEA found a record 30.6 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide gushed into the atmosphere, mainly from burning fossil fuel - a rise of 1.6Gt from the previous year.The agency has calculated that annual emission should not exceed 32Gt by 2020 if the world is to escape the most damaging effects of global warming.Experts said the figures, considered one of the most reliable measures of carbon emissions, showed that attempts to curb global warming were unlikely to succeed.Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA chief economist, said this also meant the goal of preventing temperatures rising more than 2C - considered the threshold for potentially "dangerous climate change" - was likely to be just "a nice Utopia".The disclosures come ahead of a key United Nations talks, involving officials from more than 180 governments, ...

Less than a decade to put in place measures The world now has less than a decade to put in place measures that would prevent damaging and irreversible changes to global climate, a new science-based report delivered to the Australian parliament warns.The report from a government-appointed commission of climate experts tables the latest evidence in climate science and also targets what it says is ill-informed debate that is confusing the public and holding back action.The report's authors conclude there is "strong and clear" scientific evidence of global warming and humans' role in it. The "fingerprints" of greenhouse-gas forcing are increasingly there to see, they argue.In a report entitled The Critical Decade, the report warns that global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must reach their peak as soon as possible if the plus-2-degrees "guardrail" warming limit is to be met to avoid irreversible alterations in the climate that will make it "a struggle to maintain our present way of life".On the latest available science, it argues, if the generally accepted target of peaking emissions by 2020 is followed then steep reductions in emissions of 9 per cent per year will be required thereafter - something that would appear impossible unless economies were ...