IMO Secretary-General Heads to COP29
Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez will lead IMO’s delegation to the annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22, 2024.The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will bring together world leaders along with an estimated 40,000 delegates representing governments, civil society and the private sector for discussions on how to address climate change.In line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change under the UNFCCC…
Environmentalists Ask Court to Block Development of Three North Sea Fields
Environmental groups on Tuesday will ask a Norwegian court to block the development of three North Sea oil and gas fields, citing insufficient assessment of global climate impact from future petroleum use.The lawsuit filed by Greenpeace and its partner Nature and Youth concerns the Equinor-operated Breidablikk and Aker BP's Yggdrasil and Tyrving fields, which hold combined reserves of some 875 million barrels of oil equivalent.The two NGOs in 2020 lost a case against Arctic drilling at Norway's top court…
COP28 Puts Spotlight on Methane Pledges
Delegates at this year's U.N. COP28 climate summit are anxious to boost the world's climate change agenda with concrete plans for clamping down on the second-most prominent greenhouse gas – methane.While more than 150 countries have promised since 2021 to slash their methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 under the U.S.- and EU-led Global Methane Pledge, few have detailed how they will achieve this.What is needed now is to turn those pledges into urgent action – with financial…
Report: New Gas Supply Needed in All Australian Net Zero Pathways
Australia will still need substantial gas production 26 years from now to ensure reliable and affordable energy in 2050, even under a net zero scenario, according to The future role of natural gas in Australia and the region.EY was commissioned by Australian Energy Producers to provide an independent assessment of the future role of natural gas in Australia and the region to inform Australia’s Future Gas Strategy. EY examined around 350 net zero pathways around the world and has…
Australian Climate Change Activists Disrupt Shipping at Coal Port
A climate change protest off Australia's east coast disrupted operations at the country's biggest coal export port on Saturday, the port operator said.Climate activist group Rising Tide, which claimed responsibility for the action, said around 1,500 people were at the protest, 300 of them in the shipping channel near the Port of Newcastle, as part of a 30-hour blockade set to run until 4 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Sunday.Climate change is a divisive issue in Australia, the world's biggest exporter of thermal coal behind Indonesia…
Historic Drought, Hot Seas Slow Panama Canal Shipping
Before the Ever Max ship carrying lava lamps, sofas, Halloween costumes and artificial Christmas trees could make its inaugural Panama Canal voyage this month, a historic drought forced it to drop weight by offloading hundreds of containers.Weather-related disruptions denied the vessel, owned by Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine, a chance on Aug. 1 to set a record for carrying the most containers through the vital maritime shortcut that connects the Pacific and Atlantic…
Academia’s Climate Change Challenge is Far from Academic
Highlighted in Marine Technology Reporter's MTR100 is the work and technology ongoing in the halls of academia. The most recent report released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasized our warming planet, an expected announcement for many in the scientific community. Faced with the confirmation that human activities have caused an increase in global temperatures, research has turned to seeking answers in the planet’s natural systems. How does each part of the global carbon cycle work and how may it be impacted by the changing climate?
Shipping Industry Proposes Levy to Accelerate Zero Carbon Future
Leading shipping associations have proposed creating a global levy on carbon emissions from ships to help speed up the industry's efforts to go greener.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions and the sector is under growing pressure to get cleaner.For the first time, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and Intercargo jointly proposed a levy based on mandatory contributions by ships trading globally…
Report: Shipping, Aviation 2030 Climate Goals Too Weak
The international shipping and aviation sectors' 2030 climate targets are too weak and their emissions are on course to reach dangerous levels despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, research showed on Wednesday.To limit the temperature rise to safe levels, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions need to be reduced to net-zero by 2050. Shipping and aviation accounted for around 5% of all emissions before the COVID-19 outbreak and are expected to contribute 40% by 2050.Climate Action Tracker…
Maersk Drilling Joins Offshore CO2 Storage Project
Danish offshore drilling company Maersk Drilling has joined a consortium whose aim is to develop an offshore storage solution for CO2 captured in Danish onshore facilities.Maersk Drilling said Wednesday it was joining a new CO2 storage consortium formed by INEOS Oil & Gas Denmark and Wintershall Dea. "The consortium is maturing one of the most progressed carbon capture and storage projects inside Danish jurisdiction and targets the development of CO2 storage capacity offshore Denmark based on reusing discontinued offshore oil and gas fields for permanent CO2 storage…
