The purpose of this paper is to describe the impact assessment of a mandatory operational goal-based short-term measure to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions from ships. The specific measure has been proposed by Denmark and other co-sponsors in the context of the relevant discussion at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and in particular the so-called Initial IMO Strategy. The IMO is a specialized United Nations agency that regulates shipping. The Initial IMO Strategy, adopted in 2018, has been the most recent major international environmental agreement on how to reduce GHG emissions from ships at a global level. The central research question in this paper is to ascertain the potential impacts of the aforementioned measure to least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS). There are concerns that such states may be negatively impacted, or even disproportionately negatively impacted, by whatever measure is decided by the IMO. After gaps in the literature and data are identified, our methodology develops a list of potential negative impacts, and looks at a set of factors that may influence these impacts. Then, we discuss how the goal-based measure may impact LDCs/SIDs as regards each of the identified negative impacts. The analysis argues that for LDCs and SIDS a risk for negative and disproportionately negative impacts exists. The only negative impact of which both the probability and the consequence are considered high is the difficulty to finance retrofitting of old ships or investment in new ships. As such, this is likely a disproportionally negative impact. At the same time, the degree of share (or responsibility) of the goal-based measure with respect to such potential negative impacts, vis-à-vis the share of other factors contributing to these impacts, cannot be precisely ascertained, even though we conjecture this share to be low.
The “Initial IMO Strategy” was adopted in the 72nd session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 72) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in April 2018. It has set, among other things, ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, and purports to express a strong political will to phase them out as soon as possible. The most ambitious of these targets is to reduce GHG emissions by 2050 at least 50% vis-à-vis 2008 levels, and there is also an intermediate target to reduce CO2 emissions per transport work by 2030 at least 40%, again vis-à-vis 2008 levels (IMO, 2018). In the period after MEPC 72, the focus of the IMO discussion has been on the formulation and eventual adoption of the short-term measures, that is, measures that are to be agreed upon and implemented by 2023. In fact, MEPC 76, held in June 2021, and after a rather difficult discussion, adopted such a short-term measure. MEPC 77 (November 2021) saw the initiation of the discussion on mid-term and long-term measures, which include, among others, market based measures (MBMs) and alternative fuels. The discussion continued at MEPC 78 (June 2022) and is expected to continue at future meetings of MEPC.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and discussion of potential Market Based Measures (MBMs) under the Initial IMO Strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships. In this context, some related developments are also seen as directly relevant, mainly in the context of the possible inclusion of shipping into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). A comparative evaluation of maritime MBMs is made using the following criteria: GHG reduction effectiveness, compatibility with existing legal framework, potential implementation timeline, potential impacts on States, administrative burden, practical feasibility, avoidance of split incentives between ship-owner and charterer, and commercial impacts. The paper breaks down potential MBMs into the following classes: Bunker levy/carbon levy MBMs, ETS (global and/or EU ETS) MBMs and other MBM proposals.
Until now, wave-energy developers have focused on designing large machines for utility-scale electricity generation. While many concepts with good capture performance have been devised, significant commercial success has yet to be achieved in this market. Smaller wave energy converters (WECs) for specialist uses have received less attention. Emerging applications for these machines include powering sensors for ocean monitoring and providing energy for recharging maritime autonomous vehicles. Small reliable floating WECs can provide both the low levels of power required for these applications, and a surface platform for satellite
communications. Here, the key idea is to reduce costs and increase human safety by deploying small WECs to perform tasks that would otherwise require a ship. Developing small WECs for specialist uses provides a fast route to market, thereby creating a viable financial and technical base for the development of larger devices for applications where more power is required. This paper reports early results of time- and frequency-domain simulations of a compact WEC designed for monitoring the ocean environment.
This paper reports on a benchmark study based on small-scale (1:50) measurements of a single, oscillating water column chamber mounted sideways in a long flume. The geometry of the OWCchamber is extracted from a barge-like, attenuator- type floating concept “KNSwing” with 40 chambers targeted for deployment in the Danish part of the North Sea. In addition to traditional two-way energy extraction we also consider one-way energy extraction with passive venting and compare chamber response, pressures and total absorbed energy between the two methods. A blind study was established for the numerical modeling, with participants applying several implementations of weakly nonlinear potential flow theory and commercial Navier–Stokes solvers (CFD). Both compressible and incompressible models were used for the air phase. Potential flow calculations predict more energy absorption near the chamber resonance for one-way absorption than for two-way absorption, but the opposite is found from the experimental measurements. This outcome is mainly attributed to energy losses in the experimental passive valve system, but this conclusion must be confirmed by better experimental measurements. Modeling the one-way valve in CFD proved to be very challenging and only one team was able to provide results which were generally closer to the experiments. The study illustrates the challenges associated with both numerical and experimental analysis of OWC chambers. Air compressibility effects were not found to be important at this scale, even with the large volume of additional air used for the one-way case.
This paper aims to determine what the proper role of the judiciary should be in developing climate change policy. It does so in light of the sometimes contentious relationship between ‘activist’ or ‘progressive’ judges and the doctrine of separation of powers. This relationship has a long history by which much of human rights law has been shaped. The paper analyses the court judgments in the cases of Urgenda v Kingdom of the Netherlands, Juliana v United States, and Friends of the Irish Environment v Ireland in order to identify how different legal systems view this relationship. The paper also considers the upcoming climate case in the Supreme Court of Norway. In particular, the question is asked whether the separation of powers in Europe and the United States is a doctrine mandating systems of power balance rather than of strict separation.
Drawing on the argumentation from the Urgenda judgment, the paper concludes that the protection and development of human rights should be the main concern in climate change litigation. The judiciary should accordingly take an important role in climate change policy-making in order for the state to comply with its duty to instigate emission limits.
Marine space is overall under increasing pressure from human activities and in the way harming the marine ecosystems. Maritime spatial planning is one of the governance elements in the EU Integrated Maritime Policy (2007) that aims to maximize the sustainable use of the seas and oceans. Maritime spatial planning aims to ensure that the increased use of the marine space takes place in a way that is consistent with the sustainable development in the seas and oceans. According to the MSP Directive it is required to follow an ecosystem-based and thus holistic approach. For this to happen, tools are needed, and some tools are available but with various advantages and disadvantages. The aim of the current research has been to develop a comprehensive package of tools to assess the environmental impacts of societal activities under different maritime spatial planning proposals.
The current and potential use of the seas and oceans is often called the 'Blue Economy'. Recently, the European Commission launched its Blue Growth Strategy on the opportunities for marine and maritime sustainable growth. The European Commission considers that Blue Growth is a long-term strategy in the marine and maritime sectors with great potential for innovation and economic growth. Holistic spatial planning systems supporting sustainable development have proven themselves in terrestrial planning and are also needed at sea. Due to this reason,
the BONUS BASMATI project is based on the ecosystem services approach to assist in assessing sustainable solutions corresponding to policy goals.
Marine space is overall under increasing pressures from human activities. Traditionally, the activities taken place in oceans and seas were related to fisheries and transport of goods and people. Today, offshore energy production – oil, gas, and wind, aquaculture, and sea-based tourism are important contributors to the global economy. This creates competition and conflicts between various uses and requires an overall regulation and planning. Maritime activities generate pressures on the marine ecosystems, and in many areas severe impacts can be observed. Maritime spatial planning is seen as an instrument to manage the seas and oceans in a more sustainable way, but information and tools are needed. The current paper describes a tool to assess the cumulative impacts of maritime activities on the marine ecosystems combined with a tool to assess the conflicts and synergies between these activities.
The use of the seas and oceans is generally regulated by the United Nations through the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which defines the rights and responsibilities. However, with the rapidly increasing use of the sea and oceans it is inevitable that conflicts may arise. Accordingly, there has been an increasing international recognition of the need to manage human activities that influence the marine environment and its ecosystems in an integrated, cross-sectoral manner. Recently, Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) has gained significant attention as a new paradigm aiming at minimizing the conflicts among different sea uses through involving various stakeholders and sectors while aiming for sustainable growth. The aim of this research is to build a conceptual model for a Data Infrastructure to support marine space in a transnational context addressing the challenges related to the increasing use of marine areas and resources. The work was carried out in a close cooperation between several public authorities and research institutes in the Baltic Sea Region.