In July, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted an Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) regulation for new ships. The EEDI will require new ships to meet a minimum level of energy efficiency: ships built between 2015 and 2019 will need to improve their efficiency by 10 per cent, rising to 20 per cent between 2020 and 2024 and 30 per cent for ships delivered after 2024. The environmental group Clean Shipping Coalition (CSC) welcomes the decision, but warns that it's only the first step in what needs to be a far more expansive effort to address shipping's climate impacts. Shipping accounts for around 3.3 per cent of man-made CO2 emissions worldwide and this figure is expected to rise to 6 per cent in 2020.
Source: Clean Shipping Coalition pressrelease, 15 July 2011
If all the 20 planned coal-fired power plant projects in Germany are realised, they would together emit more than 140 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from 2050 onwards. This would make it impossible to achieve the climate targets of the German government.
Significant additional emission reductions and accompanying environmental improvements can be achieved in Europe by 2020. Health benefits alone far outweigh the extra costs for emission control.
A proposal for a revision of the EU Energy Tax Directive, launched in April by the European Commission, has triggered strong reactions from some of the EU member states, including giants like the UK and Germany.
The European Commission do not believe that their own proposal for a new Energy Efficiency Directive will be enough to meet the 20 per cent energy savings target by 2020.
The fate of the vast boreal forest belt of the northern hemisphere is crucial for global climate. A new AirClim-report looks into our possibilities to protect and manage these forests for climate mitigation. Reducing paper consumption turns out to be an option.