In a mission to combat and reduce emissions across the maritime sector, the national authorities need to first quantify emissions and then develop a strategy to reduce them.
Toolkits for assessing emissions
In this regard, a new set of toolkits to assess and address emissions from ships and ports have been launched by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the global regulatory body for shipping.
The Ship Emissions Toolkit and Port Emissions Toolkit have been developed under the GEF-UNDP-IMO Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) Project, in collaboration with its strategic partners, the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH).
Toolkit available for all
Astrid Dispert, GloMEEP Technical Adviser, said the guides – available free to download from the GloMEEP website – would help support countries seeking to develop and strengthen national policy and regulatory frameworks related to the prevention of air pollution and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
Ms. Dispert said, “Both the ship and port emission toolkits provide practical guidance on assessing emissions so that a national emission reduction strategy for the maritime sector can be developed. The GloMEEP guides provide a wealth of information on assessment techniques and how to develop a national strategy, as well as links to further practical guidance”.
Toolkits launched after rigorous testing
Both toolkits have been developed through extensive testing and feedback from the practical use of the toolkit guides during national and regional training activities held in the 10 lead pilot countries participating in the GloMEEP project.
M.Dispert said, “We have been very pleased to work with the GloMEEP countries and both IMarEST and IAPH on these toolkits. Ports and shipping are intrinsically linked – as such, efforts to reduce maritime emissions need to extend beyond seagoing ships alone. IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI regulations on air pollution and energy efficiency are aimed at ships, but it is clear that for port emissions to be reduced, national authorities need to consider emissions from all sources, including cargo handling equipment, trucks – as well as domestic vessels.”
Development of National strategies
By utilizing these guides, countries can develop national strategies which will address emissions from their maritime sector as a whole – protecting public health and the environment and contributing to the fight against climate change.
Such strategies would include incorporating IMO regulations into national legislation. Annex VI of IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) includes regulations to limit air pollution from ships as well as energy efficiency regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships.
In April 2018, IMO adopted its initial IMO strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships, which sets out a vision to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping and phase them out, as soon as possible in this century. The initial strategy recognizes the important role of ports as well as shipping in achieving the ambitious targets.
Ship Emissions Toolkit
The Ship Emissions Toolkit provides a structured framework, as well as decision support tools for evaluating emissions reduction opportunities in maritime transport. It offers guidance to countries seeking to develop and strengthen national policy and regulatory frameworks related to the prevention of air pollution and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships.
The Ship Emissions Toolkit not only considers emissions from International shipping but also encourages the user to assess emissions from and identify emissions reduction opportunities for the domestic fleet. It may well be the case that domestic shipping represents the largest source of emissions in certain countries, and/or becomes the proving ground for low- or zero-carbon technologies that can subsequently be adopted by international shipping. The toolkit recognizes that ships and ports are intrinsically connected and as such also provides links to the Port Emissions Toolkit. The Ship Emissions Toolkit includes three practical guides:
- Guide 1 – Rapid assessment of ship emissions in the national context: offers guidance for conducting a rapid assessment and generating both quantitative and qualitative information about a country’s maritime emissions status at the time of analysis.
- Guide 2 – Incorporation of MARPOL Annex VI into national law: provides useful information for policy makers and legislators in countries preparing for accession; as well as information for developing the legal framework to implement the regulations in MARPOL Annex VI in the domestic legislation.
- Guide 3 – Development of a national ship emissions reduction strategy: supports countries in developing a national ship emissions reduction strategy that can guide potential policy and investment options.
Port Emissions Toolkit
As more attention is focused on reducing emissions from the entire marine shipping sector, ports are driven to understand the magnitude of the air emissions impact from their operations on the local and global community and to develop strategies to reduce this impact. Port emissions inventories provide the basic building block to the development of a port emissions reduction strategy. The Port Emissions Toolkit includes two guides:
- Guide No.1: Assessment of port emissions: The guide is intended to serve as a resource guide for ports intending to develop or improve their air pollutant and/or GHG emissions assessments. It incorporates the latest emission inventory methods and approaches. It recognizes that ships do not operate independently from shore-based entities in the maritime transportation system and that port emission considerations must extend beyond the ships themselves to include all port-related emission sources including seagoing vessels, domestic vessels, cargo handling equipment, heavy-duty vehicles, locomotives, and an electrical grid.
- Guide No.2: Development of port emissions reduction strategies: The guide is intended to serve as a resource guide for ports intending to develop an emissions reduction strategy (ERS) for port-related emission sources. It describes the approaches and methods that can be used by ports to develop, evaluate, implement, and track voluntary emission control measures that go beyond regulatory requirements.
Port emission training in Panama
The last in the series of GloMEEP training activities utilizing the Port Emissions Toolkit took place in Panama (25-27 September). Participants gained expertise in assessing emissions in ports and devising strategies to address those emissions. This was the tenth such workshop, following similar events run by GloMEEP and IAPH in all the other nine lead pilot countries in the GloMEEP project.
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Source: IMO
