Download Manifesto for Clean Shipping

Manifesto for Clean Shipping
By 16 international NGO’s
C40 World Port Climate Conference (9-11 July 2008)
Background document
From 9-11 July 2008 the C40 World Port Climate Conference will take place in Rotterdam. Leaders
of the world's most important ports and port cities together with representatives from the crucial
stakeholders of the industry are invited to come to Rotterdam for the C40 World Ports Climate
Conference. With this Manifest on Clean Shipping we urge the C40 stakeholders to take action.
OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING, AIR QUALITY IN COASTAL AREAS UNDER
PRESSURE
IMPACT OF SHIP EMISSIONS IS INCREASING
During 2007 evidence about human induced climate change has increased substantially.
The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognizes
that the “warming of the climate system is unequivocal” and “most of the observed increase in
global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed
increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations” (IPCC, Fourth Assessment Report. Climate
Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis). In addition, the Stern Review contained the first overall
estimate of the costs associated with climate change and stated that
“if we don’t act, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at
least 5% of global GDP each year, now and forever,” and concluded that this major economic
loss would have disproportionate impacts since “the most vulnerable – the poorest countries and
populations – will suffer earliest and most, even though they have contributed least to the causes of
climate change” ( Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change). The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize,
given to Al Gore and the IPCC, underlines the importance of this issue and the contribution unabated
climate change will make to global conflict.
While pollutant emissions from land-based sources are gradually coming down, those from shipping
show a continuous increase. The emissions from ships engaged in international trade in the seas
surrounding Europe – the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the north-eastern part of the Atlantic, the
Mediterranean and the Black Sea – were estimated at 2.3 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO2), 3.3
million tonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 250,000 tonnes of fine particles (PM) a year in 2000.
Under current legislation, it is expected that shipping emissions of SOx and NOx will increase by 40–
50 per cent up to 2020, as compared to 2000. In both cases, by 2020 the emissions from international
shipping around Europe are expected to equal or even surpass the total from all land-based sources in
the 27 EU member states combined. It should be noted that these figures, high as they are, refer only
to ships in international trade. They do not include emissions from shipping in countries’ internal
waterways or from ships plying harbours in the same country, which are given in the domestic
statistics of each country. However, if the recent international agreement on new SOx and NOx
emission standards is implemented, by 2020 emissions of SOx should come down significantly, while
those of NOx would still increase, but not as much as was earlier anticipated.
Between 1970 and 2004 world seaborne trade increased from 10.65 to 27.6 trillion tonne-kilometres.
During the same period the absolute mass of cargo transported rose 170% from 2.5 billion tonnes to
6.7 billion tonnes (EC, 2007). The current worldwide fleet is set to increase to 66,263 ships larger than
400 GT in 2020 (IMO, 2008). The total fuel consumption of worldwide shipping is estimated at 369
Million tonnes in 2007, and expected to rise to 486 Million tonnes by 2020, of which 382 would be
heavy fuel oil and 104 would be distillates. (IMO, 2007).
1
The relative contribution of shipping to associated emissions of CO2, SOx, NOx, and Fine dust
(PM10, PM2.5) are increasing in a similar way.
Emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from ships were estimated at 1,120 million
tonnes per year, rising to 1,475 million tonnes in 2020. SO2 Annual SO2 emissions from ships were
estimated at 16.2 million tonnes in 2006, rising to 22.7 million tonnes in 2020 under the “business-asusual” scenario.
Environmental effects
The marine environment is also affected by air emissions of the shipping industry. Important problems
are the acidification of the oceans by CO2 emissions. Acidification and eutrophication are also
important impacts of ship emissions on the mainland.
Since CO2, SOx, NOx cause acidification of soil and water, the emissions of these substances
continue to be a serious problem in large parts of Europe. NOx also contributes to the formation of
ground-level ozone, which damages vegetation as well as human health, and contributes to global
warming. Moreover, NOx lead to eutrophication, which negatively affects biodiversity both on land
and in coastal waters.
Health damage
Smokestack emissions from international shipping kill approximately 60,000 people a year, including
27,000 in Europe, at an annual cost to society of more than 200 billion euro, according to a recent
scientific study. The researchers used global inventories of ships’ emissions of SO2, NOx and PM for
the year 2002. Through chemical reactions in the air, SO2 and NOx is converted into fine particles,
sulphate and nitrate aerosols. Tiny airborne particles are linked to premature deaths. The particles get
into the lungs and are small enough to pass through tissues and enter the blood. They can then trigger
inflammations which eventually cause heart and lung failures. Ship emissions may also contain
carcinogenic particles. More than two-thirds of ship emissions occur within 400 kilometres of land. It
was found that health impacts were concentrated in coastal regions along major trade routes. East Asia
and South Asia were the most heavily impacted, each representing about one-quarter of the global
impact. One-third of all shipping deaths occurred in Europe, and about one-tenth in North America.
ACTION REQUIRED
The parties of the Kyoto Protocol requested more than a decade ago to ‘limit or reduce’ greenhouse
gas emissions from international shipping. These emissions have so far been excluded from any
regulatory or other programmes to reduce climate change gases. Over the past 10 years, as a result of
lack of action combined with industry growth and increasingly powerful ships that use more energy, a
rapid increase of greenhouse gas emissions from ships has been observed.
Carbon dioxide emissions from shipping worldwide have been estimated to be as high as 1.1 billion
tonnes, or as much as ca. 4.5% of total of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions (IMO expert group
study). Recent studies, using improved methodology, project that shipping emissions of CO2 and
other pollutants from shipping will increase by over 4% per year, compounded annually, over the next
few decades – resulting in a doubling of shipping emissions from 2002 levels by 2020 and a tripling of
such emissions by 2030 (BLG 11/INF.3, annex, at pp. 14-21).
These rapid increases clearly support the need for urgent action to reduce these emissions
in an international scheme. The C40 stakeholders can play a crucial role in taking appropriate
measures.
2
PORTS CAN PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN MAKING SHIPPING MORE SUSTAINABLE
Ports can play a crucial role in catalysing measures in the shipping industry to improve air quality and
cut down CO2 emissions by ships. By implementing incentives in the port management for ships with
a good environmental performance, ports can influence the international operating shipping business.
Shipping is an international business and therefore international policy on environmental issues is
extremely important. International legislation by institutes like IMO and the EU are of mayor
importance. Nevertheless, decision-making is slow. Many different parties with many different
interests are involved, slowing the process.
Ports should seek ways to attract more clean ships. One of this ways is to give incentives to cleaner
ships and penalties for more polluting ships. In this way ships are triggered in a very direct and strong
way to improve their environmental performance, far beyond IMO and EU legislation standards.
Of course a Level Playing Field (LPF) is important for all Ports, therefore cooperation like the C40
stakeholders is important. However, LPF should not be used as an excuse to do nothing, ports are
directly responsible for the condition of our oceans.
Shipping is blessed with a green image; it’s the cleanest way of transporting cargo all over the world.
Nevertheless, due to the increasing negative contribution of shipping to air quality and marine litter in
coastal areas, the public, politics and pressure groups will aim their arrows more and more on
shipping. Public opinion is changing. Therefore it’s important for the whole shipping industry to
handle pro-active. Improvements in environmental performance are possible against relative low costs
with great effects. Clean shipping is also a big business opportunity.
With the Clean Shipping Manifest we urge all the stakeholders involved in the shipping business; ship
owners, crew, ports, cargo owners, governments to take significant steps forward. Together with the
front-runners in the shipping world we want to accelerate the sustainable development in the shipping
business.
Manifesto for Clean Shipping
To help the C40 World Ports Conference participants, we made 6 concrete suggestions to deal with
CO2 and Air quality problems:
1. Lower progressively the Carbon Footprint of shipping and ship-related
activities in Ports
Ports are developing CO2 footprints of their activities inside the port. The ships entering the port are
not included in this Carbon footprint, unless the contribution of ocean going ships to CO2 emissions is
substantial. Ports can use their influence to progressively lower the carbon footprint of the ships
entering their ports.
2. Reduce CO2 emissions by introducing "New Navigation"
By introducing new navigation we mean a new approach in several operational measures, such as
vessel speed reductions, weather routing and voyage planning in order to ensure that fuel consumption
and emissions from ships are minimized on every voyage.
Vessel speed reductions for example, have the potential to offer early reductions in Green House
Gases (GHG) emissions from international shipping. A small reduction in speed results in a much
larger proportional reduction in CO2.
3
Vessel speed programmes are already in place in the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California,
United States and could be extended to the entire coast of California. In other ports involved in the
C40 World Port Climate initiative similar measures can be introduced.
3. Introduce differentiated port dues for cleaner ships
Ships entering the port pay port dues. Port dues form a substantial part of the operational costs of
ocean going ships. Ports can influence the port entering ships by giving cleaner ships a discount on
their port dues and raising the port dues for more polluting ships. This system can be cost neutral.
Ships with less CO2, SOx, NOx and PM emissions get a discount, more polluting ships pay more.
4. Increase the use of shore power, supplied by renewable energy
While docked at the port, ships shut off their propulsion engines, but use their auxiliary engines to
power refrigeration, lights, pumps and other equipment. If ships connect to a shore-side power supply
instead, emissions of CO2, SOx, NOx and PM can be cut by 90% or more.
The significance of Green House Gas (GHG) reductions depends on the power source for the
electricity generation. This would need to be considered and may be most applicable in ports that have
access to electricity produced by wind power, hydroelectric power, sustainable bio-fuels plants, natural
gas plants, and/or plants fuelled by other feedstocks that are cleaner than burning bunker fuel in
unregulated marine engines.
5. Set an ambitious standard for the quality of marine fuel
Marine fuel bunkers consist of the waste products of the refineries, marine bunkers contain high
concentrations of sulphur which results in high SOx emissions to the air. The air emissions produced
by combusting marine bunkers are significantly higher compared to road diesel (4500 times higher for
SOx, similar numbers are representative for NOx and fine dust [PM]).
4
6. Invest in the development and use of sustainable energy and energy
saving
Reducing the use of fossil fuel is important as a means to control ship emissions. Experiments with
wind power (SkySails) and fuel cells are ongoing. Small craft operate on solar power and scaling this
technology up will be an exciting challenge for the shipping industry.
The MEPC GHG CG identified a number of other short- and long-term measures that could reduce
GHG emissions from ships. One worth noting is the use of wind power on ocean-going vessels, as is
now being demonstrated on a trans-Atlantic voyage – where fuel reductions of 35 to 50 per cent are
possible. Other promising technical and operational measures provide a number of options for
reducing GHGs from ships. These short- and long-term measures should be considered as part of the
overall scheme and implemented as soon as possible.
Ship engines can also operate on natural gas (LNG) and in this way reduce the SO2 emissions to
almost zero since there is no sulphur in LNG.
Stichting de Noordzee (The Netherlands)
Friends of the Earth International Co-ordinator FOEI Maritime Campaign
Acid Rain (Sweden)
Zeeuwse Milieufederatie
Noord Hollandse Milieufederatie (The Netherlands)
Haags Milieucentrum (The Netherlands)
Milieucentrum Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Stichting Natuur en Milieu (The Netherlands)
Vereniging Milieudefensie Nederland (The Netherlands)
Aktionskonferenz Nordsee e.V. (Germany)
Bond voor beter Leefmilieu (Belgium)
European federation for Transport environment T&E
Bellona (Norway/Russia)
Friends of the Earth USA (United States of America)
Rotterdams Milieucentrum (The Netherlands)
Seas at Risk (Europees samenwerkingsverband NGO's)
More information:
Jeroen Dagevos
North Sea foundation (Stichting De Noordzee)
[email protected]
+31 (0)30-234016
Emile van Rinsum
Rotterdams Milieucentrum
[email protected]
+31 (0)10 - 4656496
More information:
http://www.c40cities.org/
http://www.wpccrotterdam.com/
http://www.noordzee.nl
5