Green Economy in a Blue World-Full Report

by the International Standards Organization (ISO), or else developed independently by charterers and insurers themselves. In short, shipping companies have a commercial imperative to operate with the philosophy that the costs of compliance with both mandatory and voluntary environmental standards are far less than the costs of non-compliance, given the potential and likelihood of being confronted with multi–million US dollar penalties and/or liabilities which can arise from being involved in an environmental incident, whether large or small, unintentional or otherwise. 2.4.3 Incentives for reducing CO 2 emissions In the future, however, the most significant issue regarding the part maritime transport can play in greening the world economy concerns its efforts to reduce CO 2 emissions. Because marine fuel (bunkers) is, as previously stated, among the largest operating costs for ship-owners, shipping companies have every incentive to find news means of further reducing their fuel consumption and, thus, their emissions of both air pollutants and CO 2 . The international shipping industry currently consumes about 300 million tonnes of bunkers per year (IMO mid-range estimate) (IMO, 2009). The typical price of bunkers used by ships is about US$600 per tonne (2011) so, collectively, the global shipping industry spends about US$180 billion a year on bunker fuel. The costs for ship operators, in particular, will almost certainly be increased even further by the introduction of new mandatory IMO requirements to use low sulphur fuels which, from 2015, in Emission Control Area (ECAs), will require many ships to burn distillate fuel. This is currently 50 per cent more expensive than the heavy fuel oil bunkers which most ships use at present. The economic case for greening the maritime sector by improving fuel efficiency, reducing consumption and thus cutting carbon emissions is therefore very clear. The various parts of the shipping industry – ship-owners, shipbuilders and classification societies (the depositories of technical expertise in the industry) – have been actively examining a number of ways to reduce CO 2 emissions, both for new and existing ships, which are primarily linked to reducing fuel consumption. The shipping industry is therefore confident that, as a whole, it can deliver more than a 20 per cent reduction inemissions per tonneof cargomoved per kilometre by 2020, by improving ships’ performance with regard to the various factors

which contribute to CO 2 emissions (ICS, 2012f ). These include, inter alia , improved voyage planning; speed management; weather routing; optimizing engine power; hull maintenance and use of different fuel types. These may be termed ‘operational’ measures leading to CO 2 emission reductions. In the longer term, however, the shipping industry is also exploring a number of other operational measures, including alternative fuel sources to help reduce CO 2 emissions. Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, may have their place in helping to meet some ancillary requirements, such as lighting onboard ships. However, they are not practical for providing sufficient power to operate ships’ main engines (the huge physical size of ships should not be underestimated). Fuel cells may also be a possibility for new ships in the very long term, although they are currently too limited in range to offer a viable solution. Even nuclear propulsion for merchant ships is technically possible, although safety and security implications, and support infrastructure costs would require serious consideration. Second generation biofuels might conceivably provide a possible alternative, although there is, of course, considerable public debate about the net environmental costs (and social effects) of the wider use of such fuels. The current assumption, therefore, remains that ships will continue to burn fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, and that the most significant means of reducing CO 2 emissions will be achieved by further improvements in efficiency across the entire transport chain (see also section 3.3.2). unsuccessful international experience The International Maritime Organization, as the regulator for the shipping industry, has an enviable track record of developing and adopting global technical standards. The three main Conventions adopted by IMO – SOLAS, MARPOL and STCW, dealing, respectively, with safety and security, environmental protection and seafarers’ training standards – have all been ratified by virtually all Member States of IMO (IMO, 2012l). Since its inception, IMO has developed and adopted no less than 52 conventions dealing with all facets of ship operation and protection 3 Enabling conditions 3.1 Learning from successful and

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