Cleaner fuel for ships may raise CO2 emissions: exec

Source: Reuters
By Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON (Reuters) - Switching the world's merchant fleet to cleaner-burning distillate fuels could unwittingly raise CO2 emissions, a top ship industry executive said on Monday.

Chairman of the International Chamber Shipping (ICS) Spyros Polemis told a ship industry gathering in the United States that a move to tighten ship fuel regulations needs to be linked to a proper evaluation of the impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

"Otherwise we can finish up with a regulation which solves one problem by creating another," Polemis said in a speech obtained by Reuters.

Carbon dioxide, a by-product of combustion, is the main greenhouse gas blamed for trapping heat in the atmosphere and causing global warming.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the world's top shipping body, is examining ways to reduce air emissions from ships.

Within that debate some ship industry groups have called on the complete ban of high sulphur marine fuels in favor of running the world's 50,000-strong merchant fleet on cleaner-burning distillate fuels.

The ships that carry 90 percent of the world's trade run on high sulphur residual fuels which cause significant pollution, especially close to the shoreline.

But Polemis argued that simply switching to cleaner and more expensive distillates to solve the problem will raise CO2 emissions in the manufacturing process.

"IMO should carefully review the environmental necessity of banning the use of higher sulphur fuels in the middle of the ocean, when the results of decisions could be to increase CO2 emission by oil refineries," he said.

"At the moment discussion is focusing on sulphur and particulate emissions...Carbon emissions are being discussed in another part of IMO because they are separate issues," said Simon Bennett ICS secretary, explaining that more CO2 was churned out during the energy-intensive refining process.

"But we are saying you need to link the issues because by changing one it may have implications for the other," he said.

LOW CO2 EMITTER?

When it comes to the debate on global warming the shipping industry has so far largely escaped intense public scrutiny. Like aviation, emissions from shipping are not covered by the international Kyoto protocol on global warming.

"The problem is that there is very little definitive data on carbon emissions produced by the shipping industry," Bennet said.

He cited a report by former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern which estimated emissions from shipping at less than two percent in 2000, despite it carrying the vast majority of global trade.

"The critical thing to look at is carbon emissions per ton of cargo moved per kilometer. You will find that the industry is two or three times more efficient than road or rail transport and 20 or 30 times more efficient that aviation," Bennet added.

Polemis, in his speech, however, acknowledged the seriousness of the issue, especially as maritime trade was increasing steadily.

"Amongst virtually all governments, including the United States, there is now general consensus that something must be done urgently to reduce the world's green house gas emissions," Polemis said.

"And in the maritime sphere there is certainly a willingness to make a significant contribution to this goal."