Paradox of international maritime organization's carbon intensity indicator

The 76th session of the Marine Environment Committee(MEPC 76)of the International Maritime Organization adopted several mandatory measures in June 2021 to reduce carbon emissions from ships.One of the measures is the carbon intensity indicator(CII),which is the carbon emissions per unit transport work for each ship.Several options of CIIs are available and none of them is chosen to be applied yet.We prove that,at least in theory,requiring the attained annual CII of a ship to be less than a reference value,no matter which CII option is applied,may increase its carbon emissions.Therefore,more elaborate models,combined with real data,should be developed to analyze the effectiveness of each CII option and possibly to design a new CII.

Decarbonizing in Maritime Transportation: Challenges and Opportunities

As global warming caused by greenhouse gases grows (GHGs) into a global environmental threat, carbon dioxide emissions are drawing increasing attention in these years. Among all emission sources, transportation is a major contributor to climate change because of its high dependence on fossil fuels. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has therefore been promoting the reduction of fuel usage and carbon emissions for container ships by such measures as improving shipping route selection, shipping speed optimization, and constructing clean energy propulsion systems. In this paper, a review of the impact of carbon dioxide emissions on climate change is presented;the current situations of carbon dioxide emissions, decarbonizing methods, IMO regulations, and possible future directions of decarbonizing in the maritime transportation industry are also discussed. Based on the result, it is found that in the case that non intelligent ships still occupy the vast majority of operating ships, the use of new energy as the main propulsion fuel has the defects of high renewal cost and long effective period. It is more likely to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction in the shipping industry in a short period of time by using intelligent means and artificial intelligence to assist ship operation. .

The post-Paris approach to mitigating Arctic warming——perspectives from shipping emissions reduction

The availability of increased Arctic shipping as a consequence of sea ice decline is a regional issue that is closely linked with international climate governance and global governance of the maritime industry. Sea ice decline creates favorable circumstances for the development of merchant shipping, but is accompanied by increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the shipping industry is of utmost importance to prevent the destruction of the fragile Arctic ecosystem. This paper focuses on the core content of the Paris Agreement and suggests that the International Maritime Organization could guide the shipping industry to reach a fair agreement with states that includes market-based measures, capacity building, and voluntary actions of shipping companies as non-state actors.

Research on governance of HFO use and carriage on ships in accordance with the Polar Code

In this paper, we discuss the environmental damages caused by the use and carriage of Heavy Fuel Oil(HFO) by ships in Arctic waters. We also review efforts made by major international and regional organizations in governing the use and carriage of HFO by ships in Arctic waters after implementation of the Polar Code, and analyze the obstacles and difficulties that lie ahead. By illustrating the features of the Arctic Council and the International Maritime Organization(IMO), which govern Arctic waters, we examine measures taken by these two organizations in tackling HFO issues. These include: assessing indigenous and local community’s reliance on HFO transportation in the Arctic, developing risk prevention measures for ships operating in Arctic waters, seeking economic alternatives to HFO that contribute to a greener economy, developing a package of HFO governance measures, strengthening cooperation between relevant international and regional organizations that govern HFO to provide suggestions for follow-up discussions on HFOs, and optimize governance by relevant organizations and determine a better global solution to governing the use and carriage of HFO by ships. In addition, we discuss the feasibility of an IMO-imposed HFO ban from the perspective of the Arctic governance to clearly grasp the path of its future development.

Comparison of the ＂Global Levy Scheme＂ with the ＂Emissions Trading Scheme＂ to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Shipping Emissions

Climate change is widely recognized as the major environmental problem facing the globe today. One of the most urgent environmental problems facing shipping industry is the reduction of GHG （greenhouse gas） emissions from its operations. Given the growing concern of the international community on ＂the deep reduction of global GHG emissions＂, it cannot be expected that the non-regulation of maritime GHG emissions can further continue. This paper investigates the main challenges and threats of the development of two MBMs （market-based measures） for the reduction of GHG emissions from international shipping, i.e., the ＂global levy scheme on maritime GHG emissions＂ and the ＂maritime emission trading scheme＂. A SWOT （strengths weaknesses opportunities threat） analysis is used, in this survey, to evaluate the environmental effectiveness as well as the easiness of implementation of the two policy options. Moreover, we make apparent their strengths and weaknesses concerning abatement of maritime GHG emissions. Given the fact that the discussion regarding the implementation of some MBMs with maritime GHG-emission reduction potential is still carried out with the exception of EEDI （energy efficiency design index） and SEEMP （ship energy efficiency management plan）, this paper＇s results present special significance, as they could be further analyzed and taken into account during the adoption of any future MBM for the reduction of maritime GHG emissions.