Prominent environmental campaigner Jonathon Porritt, from the Sustainable Shipping initiative, told last week’s International Chamber of Shipping conference that the various targets for CO2 reduction that shipping was currently struggling towards would eventually prove “irrelevant”. He said that the industry would have to be 95% de-carbonised by 2050 as part of global efforts to prevent global warming reaching dangerous levels.
He told the conference: “The age of easy oil is over. Crude prices have shifted fundamentally, with increasing volatility and uncertainty. The view that there could be a production peak or even decline as early as 2020 is entering the mainstream.”
He added that volatile oil prices and insecure supply would present a significant challenge to shipping and the wider economy.
Mr Porritt warned that, as climate change gathered pace, there would be increased pressure for shipping to be included in regional and global regimes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He cautioned too that price and regulatory uncertainty could undermine investment decision making. He said that strong leadership was required to prevent uncertainty leading to inaction.
The real problem facing the planet, according to Mr Porritt is the potential future global warming if we “carry on releasing CO2 into the atmosphere at rates anything like we currently do”.
Source: World Bunkering
He added that volatile oil prices and insecure supply would present a significant challenge to shipping and the wider economy.
Mr Porritt warned that, as climate change gathered pace, there would be increased pressure for shipping to be included in regional and global regimes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He cautioned too that price and regulatory uncertainty could undermine investment decision making. He said that strong leadership was required to prevent uncertainty leading to inaction.
The real problem facing the planet, according to Mr Porritt is the potential future global warming if we “carry on releasing CO2 into the atmosphere at rates anything like we currently do”.
Source: World Bunkering
