Shipping, Energy Tax Could Help Foot $1T to Combat Climate Change - COP29
The COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan aim to agree an annual finance target of $1 trillion or more a year to help poorer countries respond to global warming. Some see new taxes as one way to get there. The Global Solidarity Levies Task Force (GSLT), led by France, Barbados and Kenya, is exploring the issue. Below are excerpts from its latest report on the options being discussed -- as it pertains to shipping and fossil fuels -- and estimates about how much could be raised.SHIPPINGThe levy that could be closest to being agreed is for shipping…
50 Years of Air, Water and Wild Life Quality Improvements
I moved to the United States in 1976. It was an interesting time because the United States had recently enacted laws that were intended to improve the country’s air, water, and wild life.Instead of specific archaic environmental laws that, for example, outlawed dumping dead horses into the Hudson River, these were nationwide laws that set a minimum national standard that was to be enforced by the newly created EPA.These laws were enacted during the Nixon administration even though…
MEPC 80: Action Taken on Range of Environmental Regulations
The IMO’s MEPC 80 session adopted the 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships and advanced other environmental initiatives.The revised IMO GHG Strategy includes an enhanced common ambition to reach net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping close to 2050, a commitment to ensure an uptake of alternative zero and near-zero GHG fuels by 2030, as well as indicative check-points for 2030 and 2040:1. to reduce the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030, compared to 2008; and2.
Black Carbon and Biofouling Guidance to be Advanced by IMO
The IMO Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) Sub-Committee held its 10th session from April 24 to 28, 2023, discussing a range of topics including black carbon regulation and an update to biofouling guidance.ABS has provided a summary of the session, noting that after extensive discussion, the Sub-Committee agreed to establish a Correspondence Group that will seek to finalize draft guidelines on black carbon emission data collection and reporting. The group will also draft guidelines on goal-based control measures to reduce its impact on the Arctic, which it expects to be completed in 2025.
Tech File: Battery-buffered Diesel-electric Hybrid Drive Proves Value on German FiFi Boats
Hamburg Fire Fighting Vessels Dresden and Prag sport diesel-electric hybrid propulsion and battery systems from EST-Floattech.After the first 100 days of operation, operator Flotte Hamburg is reports it is satisfied with the two new firefighting ships Dresden and Prague: "Due to the full approval for the use of the EST battery system 'Green Orca 1050' on inland waterway vessels, which was already available at the start of the project, the first hybrid ships of the Hamburg fleet…
New RoPax Ship Stena Embla Arrives in Belfast
Stena Embla, the third E-Flexer ferry to be commissioned for Stena Line’s Irish Sea routes in the last 12 months, recently arrived in Belfast. Touted by the owner as "three of the most modern ferries in the world," Stena Embla join her sister ship on the popular Belfast – Liverpool route later this month. Stena Embla has the capacity to carry 1,000 passengers, 120 cars and 3,100 lane metres of freight. This will provide a significant 20% increase in freight capacity for the route…
