Climate Action 2016-2017

TECHNOLOGY, TRANSPORT & URBANISATION
Shipping is indispensable to the world.
Increased globalisation has fuelled
rapid growth in international trade, most
of which is carried by ship, bringing people
the commodities, fuel, foodstuffs, goods and
products on which they depend. With this comes
a challenge to ensure that international shipping
can move towards cleaner energy, reduce its
emissions and support the achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals.
This is not an easy task. Like other forms of
transport, shipping is currently largely driven
by fossil fuel-powered workhorse engines.
And shipping is not a country, it is an industry.
Finding an effective way to allocate emissions
is not straightforward. Ships can move between
different flags as easily as they can sail between
different countries. Moreover, demand for
shipping is dictated not by shipping operators
but by world markets, the ever-increasing desire
for goods by consumers and the basic need for
raw materials and commodities which can only
be moved sustainably by ships.
Nonetheless, the International Maritime
Organization (IMO), the United Nations
agency charged with regulating international
shipping, has already ensured that shipping
has embarked on a voyage to a greener future.
IMO has ensured that shipping has made a
solid contribution towards the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions.
Firstly, IMO has adopted binding technical
and operational energy-efficiency measures
which apply to all ships globally, no matter
where they trade or their flag state. Secondly,
by focusing on the capacity-building and
technology transfer needed to ensure global
application, IMO is supporting countries
to implement the international measures
effectively and is encouraging research and
development of green technology.
And thirdly, IMO member states have agreed
a three-step approach towards consideration
of further measures to enhance the energy
efficiency of ships.
"More than 1,900 ships
have now been certified
as complying with the
new energy-efficiency
standards for ships built
since 2013."
ships from 2020. In other words, requirements for
new ships could be strengthened further if the
technology is there.
To support this work, the project run by the
Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the IMO Global Maritime Energy Efficiency
Partnerships (GloMEEP), has developed a
comprehensive and freely available IMO Energy
Efficiency Technologies Information Portal,
which outlines the wide spectrum of ways to
potentially reduce ship fuel consumption. These
energy-efficiency methods range from engine
waste heat recovery and energy-efficient lighting
systems – already available – to the use of kites
or wind sails, currently at the experimental stage.
Raising awareness of mature technologies,
such as hull cleaning and propeller polishing to
optimise propulsion, and their management, is
key to achieving effective implementation of IMO
energy-efficiency measures. Many ship operators
are already adopting ‘Best Available Technology
Not Entailing Excessive Cost’ (BATNEEC) and we
should see technologies move from unproven to
maturity over time.
However, while much can be and has
been done to improve the energy efficiency
of shipping, including alternative fuels and
potentially renewable energy, nonetheless
a +50MW marine diesel engine remains the
prime mover for large seagoing vessels. The
reliability and ‘power density’ of a marine
diesel engine means that the space on board
BINDING ENERGY-EFFICIENCY RULES
The mandatory energy-efficiency requirements
for international shipping adopted by IMO have
now been in force for over three years, under
the International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI. Data
show that more than 1,900 ships have now been
certified as complying with the new energyefficiency
standards for ships built since 2013.
Currently, a review of the status of technological
developments is under way, to determine the
implementation of phase two of the IMO Energy
Efficiency Design Index requirements for new
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