BIOMASS HUB

The EPA sent draft ship emission rules to the White House late last week, which would create new engine and fuel standards for the largest ocean-bound ships regulated under section 213 of the Clean Air Act.  The new rules would drastically cut pollution from large diesel engine ships as part of the agency’s broader strategy to control ship emissions.  The intent is to reduce SOx and NOx emissions to reflect limits recently adopted in the amendments to Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL, Annex VI).  According to Friends of the Earth, large ocean going vessels, including cruise ships, release more sulfur dioxide than all land transportation combined.

While the new standards will go a long way towards improving public health in coastal areas by reducing particulate matter from diesel exhaust and mitigating ozone depletion, it fails to advance efforts to ween the industry off fossil fuels and reducing CO2 emissions.

The transportation sector currently accounts for around 28 percent of total US emissions, making it the second largest source of GHG emissions, behind electricity generation (about 34 percent).   While efforts to develop renewable jet fuels are well underway, less has been done for the shipping industry, which currently accounts for about 600 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.  This is nearly 200 million metric tons in excess of the aviation sector.  Sustainability experts and environmental campaigners argue that if maritime industry were a country, it would rank among the largest greenhouse gas emitting countries in the world.

The shipping industry currently burns “bunker fuel,” also known as residual fuel, which is the thick sludge found at the bottom of a barrel after refining petroleum.  While efforts to transition to renewable fuels have been proposed, the maritime sector has dawdled over the issue for decades.  The main proponents for improving environmental standards in the industry are the shippers themselves, which includes IKEA, Home Depot, and Toyota.  However, the increase in shipping costs for basic goods transported, and the cumulative effects on global trade, are cited as obstacles to a renewable fuel standard (RFS) for the sector.

Click here for a PDF of the EPA rule.