This article explores how adopting a combined ecosystem and justice approach to deep-sea mining (DSM)-particularly in vulnerable regions like the Arctic-would constitute a paradigm shift in ocean environmental law and governance. Such a shift would move ocean governance beyond fragmented, technocratic, and resource-driven frameworks toward an integrated, equitable, and sustainability-centered regime grounded in ecological integrity, social justice, and respect for human rights and local traditions.
Adopting green vehicles in the transport sector is a highly effective policy for mitigating the sector’s carbon footprint. Moreover, the EU transport policy acknowledges the pivotal role of inland waterways (IWW) in decarbonizing Europe, with a strategic objective to enhance its modal share through the transition from road to IWW. This paper investigates the potential of electric autonomous Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) ships to enhance the competitive edge of IWW as compared to road transport. This paper examines the impact of this innovative transport system on sustainability by analyzing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across economic and environmental dimensions using a comparative case study approach and quantitative analysis data. The main result is that implementing electric autonomous RoRo ships can lead to a 45 % reduction in OPEX (operational expenditure), with profitability expected after about 3.5 years. Emissions decrease by more than 60 %, and by 2030, CO2 emissions in the Well-to-Wake (WTW) cycle are projected to reduce by approximately 77,000 tonnes, aligning with EU transport and environmental policies.
This paper highlights the urgent need to accelerate research and action on ocean carbon sinks through human intervention, known as Global Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions (Global-ONCE) Programme, as a vital strategy in global efforts to mitigate climate change. Achieving 'net zero' by 2050 cannot rely on emission reductions alone, emphasising the necessity of complementary approaches. Global-ONCE's mission extends beyond scientific exploration. It embodies a profound commitment to protecting and restoring blue carbon ecosystems, as well as implementing ocean-based solutions that are sustainable, equitable, and inclusive. Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) are at the heart of these efforts, and their innovative approaches, technical expertise, and passion make them indispensable leaders in advancing ONCE initiatives. ECOPs bridge the gap between science and society, playing a relevant role in integrating cutting-edge research, technological advancements, and community-driven action to address climate threats. By bringing together diverse perspectives and leveraging their interdisciplinary expertise, ECOPs ensure ONCE strategies are grounded in scientific rigour and practical feasibility. Through advocacy, education, and collaboration, ECOPs not only spearhead research and innovation but also inspire collective action to safeguard our oceans. This paper amplifies the critical role of ECOPs as agents of change and calls for a unified global commitment to harness the ocean's potential for a climate-resilient future.
A number of solutions, with varying efficiency, have been proposed to mitigate discards. In this paper twelve mitigation measures were reviewed by their strengths and weaknesses, along with opportunities and threats, they might entail. How mitigation methods could either support or counteract others was also reviewed. The analyses of the mitigation measures are based on expert knowledge and experience and supported with existing literature. Discarding is highly variable and is influenced by numerous biological, technical and operational factors as well as social and economic drivers. These influences need to be carefully considered when designing management approaches. Finally, all reforms must be carefully considered within the context of a broader management system. The full management system needs to be thought of coherently to create an incentive framework that motivates fishers to avoid unwanted catches. It is only in this setting that discard mitigation methods may be potentially effective.
Driven by increased integration of renewable energy sources, the widespread decarbonization of power systems has led to energy price fluctuations that require greater adaptability and flexibility from grid users in order to maximize profits. Industrial loads equipped with flexible resources can optimize energy consumption rather than merely reacting to immediate events, thereby capitalizing on volatile energy prices. However, the absence of sufficient measured data in industrial processes limits the ability to fully harness this flexibility. To address this challenge, we present a black-box optimization model for optimizing the energy consumption of cooling systems in the aquaculture industry using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Bayesian Optimization (BO). XGBoost is employed to establish a nonlinear relationship between cooling system power consumption and available measured data. Based on this model, Bayesian Optimization with the Lower Confidence Bound (LCB) acquisition function is used to determine the optimal discharge temperature of water into breeding pools, minimizing day-ahead electricity costs. The proposed approach is validated using real-world data from a case study at the Port of Hirtshals, Denmark based on measurements from 2023. Our findings illustrate that leveraging the inherent flexibility of industrial processes can yield financial benefits while providing valuable signals for grid operators to adjust consumption behaviors through appropriate price mechanisms. Furthermore, machine learning techniques prove effective in optimizing energy consumption for industries with limited measured data, delivering accurate and practical estimates.
There is an increasing pressure on the fisheries to avoid bycatch and discards. In the EU this is seen in landing obligations in the new Common Fisheries Policy. The European fisheries are thus under pressure to be highly selective both in adjusting catches to the individual or collective quota combinations and to be size selective in order to optimize the economic outcome of the available quota. This paper proposes a strategy of time-place selectivity by sharing real-time data and information between vessels about areas with high abundance of unwanted species and sizes (hotspots). The paper examines use of time-place regulation, risks/benefits of sharing knowledge and experiences from a previous real-time information sharing system as a basis for developing the four models for fisher's sharing of information. The models differ with respect to data and information collection methods, who owns and accesses the data and hotspot warnings. The models are tested through a discussion of the possible application of the models in the context of the nephrops trawl fishery in Kattegat and Skagerrak. Based on this the models are proposed as possible tools for the fishing industry and managers when adjusted to specific local conditions, and a recommendation for policy support of development of information sharing systems is outlined.
Rigid fisheries management frameworks often leave fishermen with limited possibilities and incentives to adjust the selectivity of their gears to the specific fishing conditions. Implementation of the landing obligation in European fisheries emphasizes fishermen's need for flexibility in which gear to use to be able to match the selectivity of the gear to the quota available. How fishermen can play an important role in facilitating a more regionalised and flexible technical regulation by actively participating in the development of gears and contributing to the scientific documentation of their selectivity is discussed. Perspectives in the proposed technical regulation for EU fisheries and the regionalization in the 2013 Common Fisheries Policy are discussed based on an analysis of the current EU technical regulation. Then a new pathway to address the problem, currently being trialled in Danish fisheries, is discussed. Throughout the article, three themes are discussed: Identifying gear needs, development and testing of gear with fishermen as central actors; how the selectivity of the gear should be documented; and opportunities for faster evaluation of new gear, following the regionalization of the technical measure regulation. The paper concludes that a more flexible system of gear development and evaluation is possible by a) involvement of fishermen in proposing gear adjustments, self-sampling and documenting results following scientific protocols and evaluation, testing a range of designs before scientific testing, and b) open for faster approval of gear use under a regionalized technical regulation regime with annual adjustments of management plans containing the technical regulation.
ABSTRACT: This article reviews early experiences with what is commonly referred to as 'regionalisation'. Initially, the article briefly recalls the shortcomings of the traditional, highly centralized governance structure of the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union, for which regionalization was widely perceived as a solution, while at the same time providing an overview of the policy processes and various inputs that led to the provisions of recent regulation. Subsequently, the article presents empirical experiences related to the actual implementation and performance of the regional structures in the North and Baltic Seas and discusses the extent to which the adopted model of regionalization is appropriate in light of the objectives it was intended to advance. Finally, the article offers some scenarios of possible 'futures' of the regional structures.
This PhD thesis examines the role of market-based measures (MBMs) in incentivizing international shipping greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions to leverage the decarbonization efforts of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The research motivation sprang from the Initial IMO Strategy, which, among other climate ambitions, envisages at least a 50% curb of GHG emissions until 2050 vis-a-vis 2008 levels. The regulatory framework involves several candidate measures, including MBMs, i.e., environmental policies like carbon taxes and emissions trading systems (ETS) that enforce the "polluter-pays" principle, and thus provide fiscal incentives to stakeholders to eliminate their carbon footprint.
The assessment of MBMs as means of decarbonizing shipping is based on three main pillars: their economic efficiency, their environmental effectiveness, and their climate policy design. Compliance with carbon pricing regimes can entail the adoption of both operational measures, such as speed reduction, route reconfiguration, or voyage optimization techniques, and technological measures like the uptake of zero-carbon technologies and alternative marine fuels. Due to this wide range of conformity practices, this thesis assesses several short- and long-term responses to MBMs in order to encapsulate their cost effectiveness in relation to their carbon abatement potential.
From a climate policy design perspective, the two most prominent types of MBMs are the carbon taxes, a fixed-price approach that provides carbon price certainty, and the ETSs, a fixedquantity system that secures that GHG emissions levels are met. At first, the study evaluates the prospects of a carbon levy to achieve GHG emissions reductions by analyzing the macroeconomic effects of freight rates and fuel prices in inducing slow steaming as an operational response to the MBM. The results show that market conditions influence the overall effectiveness of a tax and that the attained reductions, although significant, are insufficient to reach the 50% decarbonization targets. Moreover, considering the imminent inclusion of the maritime sector into the EU ETS, the thesis examines the scenario of liner shipping operators opting for route reconfigurations as an operational response to a regional ETS. The outputs reveal that replacing EU ports with nearby non-EU competitor ports becomes cost-effective for minimal EU carbon prices. The action would result in carbon leakage, EU ETS evasion, loss of EU ETS revenue, and penalization of the EU ports.
To the extent that MBMs induce technological changes, this thesis evaluates the level of carbon pricing needed to close the price gap between alternative and conventional marine fuels. The analysis considers the capital and operational costs for implementing and utilizing alternative marine fuels onboard and develops their marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs) to evaluate their cost-competitiveness and carbon abatement spectrum. The analysis indicates that to reach full maritime decarbonization, fuels such as green liquid hydrogen and their supporting technology, as of today’s cost estimations, would require a carbon price of up to 700 USD/MT CO2e to become cost-competitive.
The thesis concludes that accounting for a well-to-wake scope of emissions will create the right
incentives for developing sustainable alternative marine fuel production pathways to facilitate
shipping’s future energy demand. Revenues from MBMs will be substantial and can accelerate
R&D, scale-up the availability of alternative fuels, subsidize "fist-movers" and green ships and
reverse possible detrimental effects of carbon pricing to developing countries such as the Least
Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
The report is organized as follows. The introduction will lay out the current state-of-play of eco-efficiency and the zeitgeist of the current situation on maritime that we find ourselves in, in 2020. The next section will provide some historical context looking back to 2010 and 2000 to trace the trajectory and developmental course on which we are. The core contribution of this report is the Maritime Operations Roadmap that can be found in Figure 1 on page 9. This illustration plots the expectations for technological capabilities and policy from 2020 to 2030.