Scrubber Technology - GL Exchange Forum

Posted - 2. Dec. 2011 - GL Exchange Forum
Pressure on the shipping industry to reduce the air emissions from vessels grows day by day. Regulations to more strictly limit the sulphur content in marine fuel are in place and set to tighten over the coming year. Exhaust gas scrubbers are one solution for vessels to meet such limits over the coming years and to discuss the use of this technology Germanischer Lloyd (GL) recently held an exchange forum at their Head Office in Hamburg
More than 50 representatives from the maritime industry, shipping companies, ship management agencies, shipyards, maritime journalists and stakeholders met to consider the emissions limits, hear presentations from GL and industry experts, and discuss the drivers, implementation and commercial implications of scrubber technology for the industry.
Mr Ralf Plump, Head of GL’s Department Environmental Research, set the background for the presentations at the forum, providing attendees with an examination of the international regulations in place and upcoming, the drivers pushing their introduction, and the advantages provided by scrubber technology. Mr Plump also looked at the estimated costs for retrofitting scrubber to existing vessels, in comparison with the installation of LNG (liquefied natural gas) fuel systems. Not only scrubber technology, but overall fuel efficiency in the maritime logistic chain was the key to lowering emissions, he noted, but shipping should also have its eye on the development of “zero emissions” solutions.
The class and regulatory requirements for the conversion of vessels to utilize scrubber technology were the focus of the Georg Martin, Head of GL’s System Technology Department, in his presentation. The safety considerations, class rules and monitoring requirements were laid out by Mr Martin, who noted that for the Class rules did not require Wet Scrubber Systems to have a scrubber bypass system, as long as the complete system is made of non-combustible material.
In his presentation “Special Features of the application of Wet Scrubber Technology”, Mr Torbjorn Henriksson, from Wärtsilä Industrial Operations, looked at the scrubbing process and Wärtsilla’s solutions both for scrubbers and for wash water processing. Mr Henriksson went on to examine Wärtislla’s first full-scale SOx (sulphur oxide) scrubber installation on the GL classed “Containerships VII”, which was completed in August 2011.
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http://www.gl-group.com/en/group/news_24083.php

Shipping industry seeks self regulation on emissions - Eco - Business.com

Posted -  Friday, December 2nd, 2011 - By : Jenny Marusiak - Eco - Business,com

International shipping industry groups have teamed up with prominent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to lobby for a bigger role in how the industry cleans up, and pays for, its carbon emissions.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) joined global NGOs Oxfam and WWF at this week’s UN climate talks in Durban to call for self-regulation by the shipping industry on climate matters.
The ICS is an industry association that represents over 80 per cent of the world’s merchant fleet.
In a statement released on Tuesday, ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe said that the industry would agree to contributions to a UN climate fund for developing countries, if the industry could determine its own regulation on pollution.
The Green Climate Fund, adopted last year in Cancun under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is meant to distribute US$100 billion annually by 2020 to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
“It is in the best interests of both the environment and developing nations for shipping to be regulated via our industry regulator, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), with the same rules for carbon reduction applying to all internationally trading ships, but in a manner which respects the principles of the UN climate convention,” he said.
Mr Hinchcliffe added that the industry had a “clear preference” for raising funds through measures linked to ships’ fuel consumption, such as a fuel tax, as compared to an emissions trading scheme. Emissions trading schemes require participating companies to purchase permits for the emissions they produce.
As global climate negotiations pick up pace this week, the shipping industry’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – which account for just over three per cent of overall emissions – have come under increasing scrutiny from the international community.

Complete post at:
http://www.eco-business.com/features/shipping-industry-seeks-self-regulation-on-emissions/

Shipping Industry Open to Paying for Carbon Emissions - Environmental News Services

Posted December 2, 2011 - Environmental News Services

The global shipping industry has joined with international nonprofit organizations to recommend that governments at the United Nations climate change conference in Durban give the International Maritime Organization clear guidance on reducing emissions of carbon dioxide from commercial shipping.
The international aid agency Oxfam, the global conservation organization WWF, and the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80 percent of the world's merchant fleet, today issued a joint call to delegates to recognize that placing a charge on carbon emissions by ships can help control climate change.
The International Maritime Organization is the UN agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of pollution by ships.
"The international shipping industry is firmly committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020, with significant further reductions thereafter," said ICS Secretary General Peter Hinchliffe. "However, the Durban Climate Change Conference needs to give the International Maritime Organization a clear mandate to continue its vital work to help us deliver further emission reductions through the development of market-based measures."
The shipping industry hopes that governments at the conference will respond positively to the IMO's July agreement to adopt a package of technical measures to reduce CO2 emissions from the shipping industry.
By 2030, these measures are expected to reduce ships' emissions by 25 to 30 percent compared to business as usual. To date, this is the first international agreement containing binding and mandatory measures to reduce CO2 emissions that has been agreed for an entire industrial sector.
Samantha Smith, leader of WWF's Global Climate and Energy Initiative, said, "We are very pleased that the shipping industry acknowledges its responsibility to play its part in further reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With around three percent of the world's total emissions, full participation of the shipping sector will help greatly towards keeping global warming below the two degree Celsius target agreed by governments. Putting a charge on carbon in the global shipping sector can have huge benefits in meeting our climate change objectives."

Complete Post at:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2011/2011-12-02-01.html

Carbon tax takes centre stage - bdnews24.com

Posted - Thu, Dec 1st, 2011 7:32 pm BdST - Sayed Talat Kamal

Carbon taxing seems to be the favored, albeit still controversial, solution offered at the UN Climate Summit at Durban.
While the issue of taxing carbon emissions has been raised by major industry contributors - such as the aviation and shipping industry - which most representatives and interest groups concerned are in agreement of, there have also been suggestions to impose carbon taxes on agriculture, an area that is a bit more murky and sensitive.
A significant portion of the funds collected through these carbon taxes, which is a tax on the carbon content of fuel, or more on carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, will be channeled into the Green Climate Fund as source of reliable revenues.
The fund, in theory, would be used to provide up to US$100 billion each year to help countries, most vulnerable to climate change, pay for programmed to adapt and reduce their own emissions. The establishment of this fund was agreed upon in the last installment of the Conference of Parties (COP16) to the UN climate change convention in Cancun, Mexico last year.
The carbon tax in aviation has both its strong proponents as well as its detractors. The EU, for example, has said yesterday that it would not back down on the levy to tax the carbon emissions on international airlines, and would impose the tax on all airlines flying into or out of European airports.
The measure has been opposed in European courts by at least two American airlines, with more challenges expected from Chinese airlines as well.
The Chinese delegation has expressed its firm opposition arguing that such a unilateral or mandatory action would constrain the growth of international aviation. Venezuela has described the proposed measure as "a bomb," and was concerned that it could "cause lots of problems at the international level."

Complete post at:
http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=212655&cid=36

EPA proposes commercial discharge permits - Trade Only "Today"

Posted - December 1, 2011 -   Trade Only "Today"

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued two draft vessel general permits that would regulate discharges from commercial vessels, excluding military and recreational vessels.
The proposed permits would help protect the nation’s waters from ship-borne pollutants and reduce the risk of introduction of invasive species from ballast water discharges, according to the agency.
The draft Vessel General Permit, which covers commercial vessels greater than 79 feet in length, would replace the current 2008 Vessel General Permit, when it expires in December 2013. The new draft Small Vessel General Permit would cover vessels smaller than 79 feet in length and would provide such vessels with the Clean Water Act permit coverage they will be required to have as of December 2013.
The EPA intends to issue the final permits in November 2012, a full year in advance, to allow vessel owners and operators time to prepare for new permit requirements.
The updated permit would reduce the administrative burden for vessel owners and operators. It would continue to regulate the 26 specific discharge categories that were contained in the 2008 permit and, for the first time, manage the discharge of fish hold effluent.
A key new provision of the permit is a proposed numeric standard to control the release of non-indigenous invasive species in ballast water discharges.
The Small Vessel General Permit would be the first under the Clean Water Act to address discharges incidental to the normal operation of commercial vessels less than 79 feet in length.
The draft permit specifies best management practices for several broad discharge management categories including fuel management, engine and oil control, solid and liquid maintenance, graywater management, fish hold effluent management and ballast water management.

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http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/home/517370-epa-proposes-commercial-discharge-permits

Fate of Kyoto Protocol in spotlight at talks - China Daily Information Co (CDIC).

Posted - November 30, 2011 - Lan Lan China Daily

BEIJING - The global climate change talks in Durban got off to a rocky start, with developed and developing countries holding diverging positions, indicating tough negotiations ahead.
The fate of the Kyoto Protocol, the sole international agreement that obligates industrialized countries to slash carbon emissions, remains the essential issue of the summit.
Developing countries are calling for an extension of the first commitment period which expires in December 2012.
"It is hardly conceivable that a country would leave the Kyoto Protocol to do more," said Su Wei, China's top climate change negotiator.
He reiterated that the Kyoto Protocol is the cornerstone of the climate regime and its second commitment period is the essential priority for the success of the Durban conference.
The Durban conference should clearly establish the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol where developed countries shall undertake quantified emission reduction commitments, he said.
"We cannot lower the bar for negotiations in Durban neither keep shifting goal posts," said Ambassador Silvia Merega of Argentina, on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China.
"Durban should not be the burial ground for the Kyoto Protocol, rather, it should be the birthplace of the second commitment period."
"It must be preserved and strengthened if we are to ensure any meaningful multilateral response to the issue of climate change," she said.
Christiana Figueres, the UN's top climate official, said the protocol's future is "the defining issue of this conference".
She said an extension of Kyoto targets is linked to pledges that developing countries must make to join the fight against climate change.

Complete post at:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-11/30/content_14184990.htm

Carbon tax fails to get UN stamp - Hindustantimes

Posted - Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times - New Delhi, November 30, 2011

A bid to legitimize carbon tax on aviation and maritime transport has got thumbs down from the developing world with Cuba terming it violation of the basic principle of United Nations climate convention of common but differentiated responsibility.
The International Civil Aviation Organization and International Maritime Organisation have proposed carbon tax on the lines of what Europe would be implementing for flights landing there from January 2012.
The two organisations want global framework of carbon tax on airlines and shipping companies, which fail to meet emission norms of certain regions, such as Europe, to reduce emissions from aviation and maritime transport. The European Union wants to extend its carbon tax regime called Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) to the shipping sector by 2015 and is looking at ratification of the same from the UN’s top climate body.
Cuba, speaking in Durban climate conference of 195 nations on behalf of India, China, Argentina, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Egypt and Algeria, accused the two organizations of trying to burden the developing world for meeting emission reduction targets of the developed world.
As per the UN convention, the rich nations are required to reduce emissions and pay for climate mitigation in the developing world. The proposal, however, aims to turn the table with developing world having to pay for emission reduction targets of the rich nations.
“These types of measures would have political, economic and social implications and penalize international transport, increasing its costs, and, thus, affecting international trade, particularly in the developing world,” the statement read out at the conference said.
Cuba accused the two organizations of proposing a framework for market based measures without considering objections from number of developing countries. It sought consensus before any country including Europe impose such unilateral carbon tax.
Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan has already written to European Commission opposing the “unfair” carbon tax. Her sentiments were reflected in the Cuban statement which said there was a need for transfer of technologies and provision of financing to ensure that the developing world can improve efficiency in international transport.

Post at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Carbon-tax-fails-to-get-UN-stamp/Article1-776101.aspx