Shipping sustainability : reducing CO2 the fourth propulsion revolution–eliminating GHG emission from ships

With climate change and global warming being a critical issue that the whole world is seeking to address, the shipping industry is currently also taking steps towards reducing carbon emissions. The aim of this research paper is a feasibility assessment of the fourth propulsion revolution, which involves a transformational move in the industry to achieve complete decarbonisation, delving specifically into fuels and propulsion technologies. The feasibility of the fourth propulsion revolution will be accessed through 3 divisions, namely regulations, technology and future of decarbonisation. For this paper in particular, the role of regulations in ensuring the success of decarbonisation will be discussed and evaluated. The paper first starts out with current regulations and initiatives. These include the IMO Initial Strategy, Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) and GreenVoyage2050. A major aspect of these strategies currently focuses on partnerships and collaborations to reduce carbon emissions for the industry. There is also some research done on other regulations i.e. IMO 2020, which limits other air pollutants. Overall, past research on the analysis of these regulations, be it GHG or non-GHG, provided us a clearer picture on the current regulatory framework with respect to helping the industry achieve decarbonisation. However, to better ascertain the role of regulations in decarbonising the industry, interviews are also conducted with industry professionals to find out the industry’s take towards these regulations and initiatives. Although regulations will set clear goals for the industry to work towards, there are still challenges and loopholes that regulations might not be able to tackle. This would eventually impair the feasibility of complete decarbonisation for the maritime and shipping industry. Furthermore, the implementation of regulations requires much consideration in terms of its enforcement, which this paper also seeks to address. Ultimately, there should be a balance of regulations and initiatives by the industry, be it on the national, regional or international level. Various market-based instruments can be utilized to encourage and transit the industry to adopt non-carbon emitting fuels. It is likely that there will be more than one type of fuel solution adopted, and thus, there should definitely be regulations that regulate the use of fuel, especially fuel that are more dangerous in nature i.e. nuclear energy. Recommendations to improve current regulations will also be discussed at the end of the report.Bachelor of Science (Maritime Studies