Shipping in Changing Climates Conference
News Posted: 20 June 2014
HIGH SEAS, HIGH STAKES.
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester organised the June 2014 conference 'Shipping in Changing Climates' at the Liverpool Hilton.
With a wide range of delegates and speakers from Maersk Line, Shell, Lloyd's Register and IMO to a variety of academic Research Centres like University College London, the conference held for a challenging and extremely interesting debate on how the shipping sector and International trade will be affected by climate change.
The conference focused on the following questions:-
- What types of technological, operational and other supply-side changes are needed to deliver a secure and resilient, low carbon shipping system?
- How might climate change policies and impacts in other sectors (e.g. the energy sector) influence patterns of trade and the demand for shipping?
- What are the barriers and opportunities towards a radically decarbonised shipping system?
Keynote speakers included Professor Kevin Anderson, Deputy Director Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, Peter Hinchcliff OBE International Chamber of Shipping and Andrew Alderson Project Manager, Shell.
Despite ongoing climate negotiations aimed at preventing a rise of 2°C above pre-industrial levels, growth in global fossil fuel emissions continues across all sectors. Options for decarbonising the Marine Sector were presented and discussed. Additional to presentations on the conventional shipping sector the more diverse included - Alison Newell, University of the South Pacific on 'Turning the tide: the need for sustainable sea transport in the Pacific, Stuart Balfour, Sail Line Fish on 'Zero Emission Fishing' and Oihane Basurko AZTI Spain on Energy Efficient Fishing:the determinant factors.
The conference concluded with the overwhelming agreement that through collaboration, innovation and resource management global action must be taken.
