News...
European Commission targets sulphur pollution
Improving effi ciency does not just mean lower greenhouse gas emissions and lower costs for the industry that transports 85 percent of the world’s goods. Ships burn a highly viscous form of oil, called heavy fuel oil, which contains around 5 percent sulphur. This can cause acid rain and produce fi ne dust particles that cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems on coasts close to the busiest shipping lanes. Effi ciency measures help
to reduce fuel burn and sulphur, but aligning shipping with other industries on sulphur content also makes sense. For example, the gasoline used by cars and trucks in Europe is only allowed to contain 0.001 percent sulphur. Around the world,
emissions control areas have sprung up requiring ships to use cleaner fuel when they are close to the coast. The European Commission’s measures, announced in July, will require low-sulphur fuel in the Mediterranean for the fi rst time, and 0.1 percent sulphur content in northern Europe from 2015. The move is expected to
cost the industry between €2.6bn and €11bn, with a surge in investment in exhaust gas cleaning technology.
Global biofuel production hits record high
Global production of biofuels increased 17 percent in 2010 to an all-time high of 105 billion litres, up from 90 billion in 2009. High oil prices, the global economic rebound and new laws and mandates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, and the US, among others, all contributed, according to the Worldwatch Institute’s Climate and Energy Program. The US and Brazil remain the two largest ethanol producers. In 2010, the US generated
49 billion litres (57 percent of global output) and Brazil produced 28 billion (33 percent). Corn is the main feedstock for US ethanol, as opposed to sugarcane in Brazil. “In the US, record production is attributed in part to high oil prices, which
encouraged several large fuel companies to enter the ethanol industry,” said Alexander Ochs, director of Worldwatch’s Climate and Energy Program. High oil prices were also a factor in Brazil, where many drive “fl ex-fuel” vehicles that run on either fossil or biofuels, and switched to cheaper sugarcane ethanol. “Although they’re world leaders in ethanol, the largest producer of biodiesel is
the EU, which generated 53 percent of all biodiesel in 2010,” Ochs said. “But we may see European countries switch from biodiesel to ethanol because a recent report from the European Commission says ethanol crops have higher energy content, making them more effi cient sources of fuel.”
07
First greenhouse gas regulation in shipping
History was made on 15 July as the International Maritime Organization agreed on energy effi ciency design standards that will reduce emissions by up to 30 percent by 2030. This is the fi rst time any
industry has delivered regulation at the global level, and the fi rst time a UN body has achieved agreement between developed and developing countries on emissions since Kyoto. Carbon War Room has
worked with the shipping industry to build support for effi ciency standards. In December 2010, CWR launched shippingeffi
ciency.org, which provides free ratings for 60,000 ships.
WWW.CARBONWARROOM.COM
The site saw heavy use by the industry leading up to the IMO decision, and traffi c has increased since, as maritime and logistics companies look to buy, charter and upgrade ships to improve their effi ciency. Effi cient ships not only
reduce the industry’s large and growing carbon footprint, but also increase profi tability. Industry associations have rallied round, leading to an overwhelming positive vote at the IMO. But CWR said this does not mean the end of its campaign. The new standards
only apply to ships built after 2015, and for countries that apply for a waiver, after 2019. CWR is sending a letter to IMO delegates, calling for them to apply the design index to the existing fl eet, to encourage use of effi cient ships already on the seas. CWR said: “Already we have the support of 50 organizations representing 5 percent of the world’s fl eet, with more expected to join now that the system’s approved by the IMO.”
ISSUE 04. SEPTEMBER 2011
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