Rocking the boat on shipping emissions

This week’s talks at the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) must chart a speedy and ambitious course towards zero-emissions shipping.  Today (22 November), the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) hit the waves again – but, this time, with potential rays of hope on the horizon. Momentum is …

Penetrating the carbon removal smokescreen

Carbon dioxide removal, or carbon removal for short, is a controversial and widely misunderstood topic. Harnessed properly, it can help cool our planet and combat global heating. Misused, it can be reduced to an exercise in greenwashing and creative climate bookkeeping that enables polluters to continue polluting with impunity. Wijnand Stoefs explains. Carbon removal means …

There is no cheating the atmosphere

Simply throwing public money at misleading climate solutions, such as carbon capture and storage/utilisation, would be a huge mistake. Although books can be cooked, the atmosphere cannot be cheated. Back in June, fifteen Members of the European Parliament sent an open letter to European  Commisson Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, Internal Market Commissioner …

Shipping industry U-turn on carbon pricing long overdue

27 April 2021 – The shipping industry’s leading global lobby group the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) last week ended its years-long opposition to carbon pricing.  It is imperative now that ICS and other sponsors should withdraw their IMRB proposal to allow time for discussion on carbon pricing, and support the far more serious and …

A global pollution price for ships is back on the agenda – here’s how to get it right

A worldwide shipping carbon pricing scheme must reduce pollution fast, finance technologies that reduce more emissions, and support countries most impacted by climate change. It must not include offsetting nor be allowed to weaken national or regional measures. The global shipping sector is still not paying for the climate damage it is causing. While carbon …

From pipeline to pipe dream: why there’s no such thing as shipping carbon-neutral LNG 

This opinion piece was first published on Splash247 on 22 March “Carbon-neutral” liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the new kid on the block when it comes to fake climate credentials. The number of deals across the world is growing at an alarming pace. This greenwashing trend is wrong at many levels. First, let it be …

Concrete ideas to divert attention

Debunking industrial carbon removal claims: Cembureau Removing carbon from the atmosphere as a concept is gaining traction around the world. While some form of it will likely be needed to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees, cutting pollution must remain the immediate priority.  As industry struggles to imagine or operationalise net-zero emissions plans by …

Carbon removals: a hot topic that requires a cool head

There is a lot of hype around possibilities of sucking carbon out of the atmosphere and the topic is also on the EU policy-making agenda. Plenty of ways to do this exists already, but all of them come with challenges. Understanding and defining what “carbon dioxide removals” are, is a first step towards avoiding policy …

EU Commission waters down carbon market state aid rules to please large polluters

The final EU carbon market state aid rules will ensure massive handouts of taxpayer money to large polluting industries such as oil refineries and plastic producers over the next decade.  The EU ETS state aid guidelines for 2021-2030 set the framework for EU countries to compensate their electricity-intensive industries deemed at risk of ‘carbon leakage’ …