Sustainable Transport and the Environment Guide - Unite the Union

communities and on coastal infrastructure including ports and docks. For years the
oceans have silently served our planet by absorbing about a third of human-induced
carbon dioxide emissions (they already hold 38,000 gigatonnes 50 of carbon, many
times more than the air or the land), but climate change is already damaging the sea’s
ability to continue to absorb CO2. 51
Whilst no one weather event can ever be said conclusively to be caused by climate
change, Hurricane Katrina was just one example of the type of catastrophe that
scientists agree will become more common. Unfortunately this and other coastal
tragedies (such as the Sri Lankan Tsunami) had worse impacts in part due to the
degradation and industrialisation of nearby coastline and the loss of natural defences
such as mangrove swamps, which in the past helped absorb shock and flood waters.
Avoiding such problems, and reversing them, requires a drastic reduction of carbon
dioxide emissions, as well as sensible policies to protect marine biodiversity and to
police this.
Other problems, such as rising sea levels, changing ocean currents and the increased
intensity of typhoons and hurricanes – are more severe and will be harder to tackle
without a drastic reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
And some of our problems with the seas are existential. For years the oceans have
silently served our planet by absorbing about a third of human-induced carbon dioxide
emissions (they already hold 38,000 gigatonnes of carbon, many times more than the
air or the land), but it is not clear exactly how quickly the absorption can continue or
what the effects might be on the oceans themselves.
But there is room for hope, with targeted efforts to protect the chunks of the ocean
that remain relatively pristine, we have a good chance of preserving these areas in
good condition.
Container shipping lines have started a concerted effort to rehabilitate the industry's
battered public image, recently they launched a campaign to show its environmental
record is improving and that the industry's record on security is good.
The growing criticism of the impact of shipping, particularly on the environment, has
prompted shipping lines to launch the Container Shipping Information Service.
There has been particularly strong criticism of Hong Kong - which, with neighbouring
Shenzhen, handles about 28 per cent of world container movements - and southern
California, which handles 40 per cent of US container imports.
"The largest category of ships, which carry most of the world's cargo, are termed
Category 3 vessels by the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Category 3
vessels are fuelled by bunker oil, the dirtiest and least expensive form of fuel
available. As high-grade petroleum products such as jet fuel, gasoline, and diesel fuel
are produced, the refining process removes undesirable chemicals. The residue from
the production of these higher grade fuels is collected and sold as bunker oil. Bunker
50 Giga is a factor of 10 9
51 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/12/sea-co2-climate-japan-environment
59