Green Economy in a Blue World-Full Report

opinion formers and society at large, to develop new pollution prevention regulations, or make amendments to those already adopted. increased environmental awareness amongst maritime transport operators and their seagoing employees has, in part, been a consequence of the adoption, implementation and enforcement of the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention (the ISM Code), adopted in 1993 by IMO. In effect, this introduced a requirement for shipping companies to have a ‘licence to operate’ which is only obtained after they demonstrate, through rigorous internal and external audits, that they have adequate management systems in place, at sea and ashore, to prevent recognized sources of marine pollution, and to identify and rectify any deficiencies. Since the 1990s,

in a Blue World

Transportation emission

Grams of CO 2 per kilometre per litre

600

Airplane

500

400

300

200

Cargo Vessel less than 8 000 dwt

Cargo Vessel less than 8 000 dwt

100

Truck

0

Source: Swedish Network for Transport and the Environment (NTM)

In short, the ISM Code embraces the concept of ‘continuous improvement’ with regard to the management of pollution prevention by ships (in addition to the management of safety) (ICS, 2010). While safety of life at sea must always be the first priority, the recognition of the role of Safety Management Systems in preventing marine pollution cannot be over-stated as a result of increased awareness of the essential need to protect the environment, given focus by the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. In particular, the concept of ‘continuous improvement’ with respect to environmental importance is a significant driver toward the achievement of a fully sustainable maritime transport industry operating within the green economy. As highlighted above, it is probably the challenge of reducing atmospheric pollution and CO 2 emissions which presents the most obvious opportunities with regard to the transition towards a green economy. In this respect, and as shown in the figure above, shipping is already the most environmentally-friendly form of commercial transport and, with the lowest CO 2 emissions per tonne/kmalso, there are significant opportunities for a modal shift towards maritime transport – especially short sea shipping and coastal shipping, away from other land-based transport modes or, even, aviation. In this respect, because marine fuel (bunkers) is one of the largest operating costs for ship- owners, shipping companies have every 2.2 Economic, environmental, and social issues and opportunities

incentive to find new means of further reducing their fuel consumption and, thus, their CO 2 emissions. These issues are explored in more detail in section 2.4.3 below (ICS, 2012b). There are, of course, other potential impacts on the environment – both marine and atmospheric – from maritime transport which, consequently, create green opportunities. In this regard, pollution can take many forms and arise from many different sources including: • Oil, chemical and liquefied gases in bulk; • Antifouling systems; • Dangerous goods in bulk and packaged form; • Sewage; • Garbage; • Transfer of invasive species through ballast water and biofouling; • Engine exhaust (including sulphur, nitrous oxides and carbon dioxide); • Cargo vapour emissions; • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); • Halons; and • Noise. To prevent the more ‘traditional’ sources of marine pollution by ships – or mitigate their effects following the unfortunate occasion when pollution still sadly occurs – governments at IMO have adopted a comprehensive international regulatory framework, which is widely enforced. This is made up of no less than 21 global treaty instruments which are augmented by technical codes and

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