The long way to a climate-neutral ship

 

“The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu) normally publishes its cruise ranking every September. A media effective means of issuing certificates to the cruise lines. With a few exceptions, the grades for sustainability and climate protection were mostly unsatisfactory. This year, Nabu is not ranking and has instead invited the most important participants on the German market - Aida, MSC, Tui Cruises - to a panel discussion. Topic: "The future of cruise lines in times of pandemic and climate crisis." Is there suddenly harmony between former opponents?

"No, we are and will remain critical companions, but the industry has been shaken to the max by the pandemic and that is why hardly any new ships have come onto the market," says Malte Siegert from Nabu Hamburg. Instead of the ranking, Nabu presents an ambitious timetable on the way to climate neutrality in 2050. Among other things, it calls for the immediate stop of the use of heavy fuel oil, the unrestricted installation of nitrogen oxide catalysts and soot particle filters - by 2023.

The shipping companies' promises were not kept when they renounced heavy fuel oil

As far as the goal is concerned, the shipping companies are demonstrating unity. The schedule, on the other hand, is disputed. And the how, says Christian Hein, Germany managing director of the MSC shipping company. "In 2050 we will be climate neutral. That much is certain. We just don't know how to do it today." In any case, participate in the current developments. The industry has recognized the signs of the times, the European suppliers are committed to the Paris climate protection agreement, to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and to the EU's goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050.

Time will show how seriously this is meant, says Malte Siegert, but he recognizes that providers on the European market are sensitized to the topic. Siegert's Nabu colleague Sönke Diesener is cautiously optimistic; the tone has become more constructive between the parties, but he also says that the cruise industry has already made many promises about the use of heavy fuel oil, which in retrospect would have turned out to be lip service.

In Germany, the market leader Aida, part of the world's largest cruise company Carnival, shows what the path to climate neutrality could look like. This is how things have been done with the LNG ships that are powered by liquefied gas, says Hansjörg Kunze, Head of Communications at Aida - with a signal effect for the industry: since the first LNG ship Aida Nova went into operation in December 2018, more and more LNG ships have come on the market. In the Aida fleet, however, only one of the 13 ships runs on LNG. Another LNG ship, the Aida Cosma, is scheduled to go into service in December.

In 2030 there should be zero-emission ships. But is the date realistic?

Nabu man Siegert sees the LNG ships only as a bridge technology anyway. The gas burns with almost no pollutants, but the fact remains that it is a fossil fuel and emits CO2. In the future, these ships could also be refueled with synthetic liquefied petroleum gas, if this can be produced in such large quantities with renewable energies.

Aida wants to put the first zero-emission ship into operation in 2030, Kunze announced. The race has started, everyone wants to be first. "Race to the top" is what Lucienne Damm calls it. She is environmental manager at Tui Cruises, previously worked for Nabu and is now working on preparing Tui Cruises for the post-carbon era. Tui Cruises wants to offer climate-neutral travel in 2030, announces Damm.

First of all, however, it is important to do what is feasible, namely to convert the existing fleet. The engines have to be made fit for new fuels, this requires the consent of the engine manufacturer. In addition, the energy efficiency of the existing ships would have to be increased, and potential savings in fuel consumption would have to be used. "That might not sound so sexy," says Lucienne Damm, but this already saves more than 20 percent energy - a considerable contribution to climate protection. 

 

Generally slower driving and smart routing - route optimization and avoiding storms, significantly reduced fuel consumption.

 

MSC is developing a hydrogen-powered ocean-going ship with the Italian shipyard Fincantieri. But is this ready to go by 2030? There are simply too many unknowns, explains MSC man Hein: The availability of alternative fuels, feasibility, infrastructure and the future technical standard are still completely unclear.

Synthetic fuels are a noble goal. Shore power systems in the ports can be reached more quickly

At Aida, they work on huge batteries on board that can emit and store energy depending on the driving situation. Aida Nova will have the largest fuel cell ever on board a passenger ship this year with an output of 200 kilowatts. It is not known where all the electricity will come from to achieve decarbonization. What is clear, however, is that Germany will not be able to produce this in sufficient quantities. For alternative, green fuels such as hydrogen or synthetic products such as methanol or ammonia, a distribution battle is already emerging between industry, aviation and the comparatively small cruise industry. Malte Siegert considers this to be the crux of the energy transition in the cruise industry. 

 

"The electricity for the production of synthetic fuels has to come from countries that have a lot of potential for wind and solar power," explains Siegert. Capacities that have yet to be built up, power lines that have to be laid first.

 

So there is still a long way to go towards climate neutrality. In German ports, however, there should soon be improvements: Rostock-Warnemünde has recently had shore power, and a system was inaugurated in Kiel. The facility has been decided in Bremerhaven. And in Hamburg, which so far only has a rarely used shore power system in Altona, there will be shore power at all cruise terminals from 2023. Even if this is only a tiny contribution to global climate protection: The inhabitants of the German port cities should soon breathe much better air. "All ships built from 2007 onwards are capable of shore power, many are already equipped," says Sönke Diesener. "Now the ships also have to be connected to the cable." ”

Lietuvos ūkininkai greitai staugs daug garsiau: kiek kainuoja mūsų maistas - tikroji biskvito kaina

Lietuvos ūkininkai staugia, kad pernelyg sausa ar pernelyg šlapia, kad ES reikalauja saugoti gamtą, bet duoda tam pernelyg mažai pinigų. Realiai sutvarkyti maisto kokybę, gamybą ir pristatymą kainuos daug daugiau, negu jums atrodo.

"Maisto sistema turi tapti tvari. Tai reiškia, kad paslėptos išlaidos turi būti matomos. Iš ko jos susideda - ir kodėl įmonės turėtų jas apsvarstyti, atsižvelgdamos į savo interesus.

 

Klimato kaita, rūšių išnykimas, per didelis ar nepakankamas maitinimasis, nelygybė- tai tik labiausiai žinomos žmonių problemos, už kurias iš dalies atsakinga pasaulio maisto sistema. Jos paslėptos išlaidos žmogui ir gamtai yra 19,8 trilijono JAV dolerių per metus, tai yra daugiau nei du kartus daugiau nei bendra finansinė maisto vartojimo vertė pasaulyje. 

 

Penktadienį pasibaigusio Jungtinių Tautų mitybos aukščiausiojo lygio susitikimo mokslinė patariamoji taryba tai įvertina tokiu lygiu. Didelę dalį išmetamų šiltnamio efektą sukeliančių dujų galima atsekti iki maisto tiekimo. Norint pasiekti 17 tvarumo tikslų, JT generalinis sekretorius António Guterresas mano, kad per ateinančius dešimt metų būtina pertvarkyti maisto sistemą. Mokslininkai įžvelgia potencialo gerokai priartėti prie visų 17 tikslų. Todėl Pasaulio ekonomikos tvarios plėtros taryba (WBCSD) ragina verslo lyderius į savo verslą žiūrėti holistiškiau. Priimdami sprendimus jie turėtų atsižvelgti į „tikrąją maisto vertę“ (TVoF).

Paslėptos išlaidos ir nauda - ekonomistai kalba apie išorės veiksnius - nepakankamai atspindi galutinę maisto kainą. Tai apima poveikį aplinkai, sveikatai ir socialinėms sąlygoms. 

Pavyzdžiui, biskvitas galutiniam pirkėjui prekybos centre kainuoja 0,55 dolerio. Tai apima 33 centų gamybos išlaidas. Tačiau, jei atsižvelgsite į paslėptas išlaidas, tarybos teigimu, papildomai yra 56 centai - visos išlaidos padidėja iki 89 centų. 

 

Paslėptas išlaidas sudaro aplinkos tarša, sveikatos išlaidos ir socialinės bei ekonominės išlaidos, kurios pirmiausia kyla dėl prastų darbo sąlygų. Pavyzdyje pastarąsias daugiausia kenčia kakavos plantacijų darbuotojai Dramblio Kaulo Krante. 

 

Be to, gali būti ir kitų socialinių ir ekonominių išlaidų, jei sausainiai nevalgomi, tačiau - raktinis žodis maisto atliekos - tampa atliekomis. Sveikatos priežiūros išlaidas padengia socialinės apsaugos ir mokesčių mokėtojai. Čia jos atsiranda dėl vartotojų, kurie įgyja antsvorį, ir dėl užteršto oro poveikio, kurį prideda gamyba ir pristatymas. Poveikis aplinkai - pavyzdžiui, buvo atsižvelgta į išmetamą CO2 kiekį ir vandens suvartojimą - daro įtaką visai visuomenei.

 

Greitai kviečiami boikotuoti

Šiame pavyzdyje paslėptos išlaidos sudaro 63 procentus visų išlaidų. Tarybos teigimu, paslėptos avižinių dribsnių su obuolių ir persikų gabalėliais išlaidos sudaro tik 35 procentus visų išlaidų. Galutinio kliento kaina pastarajame pavyzdyje taip pat yra 55 centai. Tačiau prie 36 centų gamybos sąnaudų pridedama tik 19 centų paslėptų išlaidų: 12 centų socialinės ir ekonominės išlaidos, 3 centai aplinkai, 4 centai sveikatos sektoriuje. Tai, kad minėtų pavyzdžių paslėptos išlaidos labai skiriasi, daugiausia lemia trys veiksniai: pasėliams, auginamiems dėl ingredientų, reikia skirtingo vandens kiekio, muslio maistinė vertė yra naudingesnė sveikatai ir darbo sąlygos gamybos procese yra žymiai geresnės, nes visi ingredientai yra iš Europos.

 

Pasaulio ekonomikos taryba mano, kad pasaulinės taisyklės, mažinančios paslėptas mitybos išlaidas, yra prasmingiausios. Nepaisant to, jis ragina įmones į tai orientuotis jau dabar. Viena iš priežasčių yra ta, kad, anot organizacijos, vis daugiau vartotojų prašo tvariai pagaminto maisto. Be to, investicijos į maisto technologijų pramonę ir nauji reglamentai, tokie kaip CO2 mokesčiai ar cukraus mokesčiai, keičia konkurencinę aplinką. Be to, greitai plinta neigiamos ataskaitos apie produktus ir įmones, o boikotai raginami dažniau nei anksčiau.

 

Siekdama suderinti verslą su „tikra maisto verte“, Taryba remiasi medžiaga iš Sostinių koalicijos „Spurgų socialinių ir planetinių ribų sistemos“, Vertės balansavimo aljanso ir Gamtinio kapitalo priemonių rinkinio. Svarbu būti judėjimo priešakyje su stipriais partneriais, o ne tik reaguoti į pokyčius“.

 

Lithuanian farmers will soon complain much louder: What our food costs - the real price of a cookie

Lithuanian farmers complain that it is too dry or too wet, that the EU demands nature protection, but gives too little money for it. Realistically arranging food quality, production and delivery will cost much more than you think. 

“The food system must become sustainable. That means making hidden costs visible. What they are made of - and why companies should consider them out of self-interest. 

 

Climate change, extinction of species, over- and undernourishment, inequality - these are just the most well-known human problems for which the world food system is partly responsible. Its hidden cost to man and nature is $ 19.8 trillion annually, more than twice the total financial value of food consumption in the world. 

 

The Scientific Advisory Board of the United Nations Nutrition Summit, which came to an end on Friday, estimates this to be the case. A large part of the greenhouse gases emitted can be traced back to the food supply. In order to achieve the 17 sustainability goals, UN Secretary General António Guterres believes it is essential to reorganize the food system over the next ten years. Scientists see potential in this to come significantly closer to all 17 goals. The World Economic Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) therefore calls on business leaders to take a more holistic view of their business. In their decisions, they should consider the “true value of food” (TVoF).

 

The hidden costs and benefits - economists speak of externalities - do not adequately reflect the final price of food. These include effects on the environment, health and social conditions. 

 

For example, a biscuit (see graphic) costs 0.55 dollars for the end customer in the supermarket. This includes production costs of 33 cents. If you take the hidden costs into account, however, according to the council, there are 56 cents on top - the total costs increase to 89 cents. The hidden costs are made up of environmental pollution, health costs and socio-economic costs, which result primarily from poor working conditions.

In the example, the latter are mainly worn by workers on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast. In addition, there may be other socio-economic costs that arise if the biscuits are not eaten, but end up as waste. Health care costs are borne by social security and taxpayers. They arise here from consumers who are becoming overweight and from the polluted air effects that production and delivery contribute to. The environmental impact - for this example, CO2 emissions and water consumption have been taken into account - affects society as a whole.

Quick calls for boycotts

In this example, the hidden costs make up 63 percent of the total costs. According to the Council, the hidden costs of a portion of oatmeal with apple and peach pieces, on the other hand, only make up 35 percent of the total costs. The end customer price for this example is also 55 cents. However, only 19 cents of hidden costs are added to production costs of 36 cents: 12 cents in socio-economic costs, 3 cents at the expense of the environment, 4 cents in the health sector. The fact that the hidden costs of the examples mentioned differ so greatly is mainly due to three factors: The crops grown for the ingredients need different amounts of water, the nutritional value of the muesli is more beneficial for health, and the working conditions in the production process are significantly better because of that all ingredients come from Europe.

The World Economic Council sees global regulations that reduce the hidden costs of nutrition as making the most sense. Nevertheless, he calls on companies to orientate themselves towards it now. One reason for this is that more and more consumers are asking for sustainably produced food, according to the organization. In addition, investments in the food tech industry and new regulations, such as CO2 levies or sugar taxes, are changing the competitive environment. In addition, negative reports about products and companies are spread quickly, and boycotts are called for more frequently than before.

In order to align the business with the “True Value of Food”, the Council refers to materials from the “Donut of Social and Planetary Boundaries Framework” of the Capitals Coalition, the Value Balancing Alliance and the Natural Capital Toolkit. It is important to be at the forefront of the movement with strong partners instead of just reacting to changes."