Promoting Renewable Energy

On March 14, the third edition of One Planet Summit will be held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Summit will bring together global leaders, entrepreneurs, international organizations, and civil society to help accelerate and focus attention on climate investments in line with the Paris Agreement.

The main themes will focus on promoting renewable energy, fostering resilience and adaptation, and protecting biodiversity in Africa. Reducing GHG emissions from maritime transport will be one area the summit will be looking to shed some light on. Burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, oil and gasoline raises the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

As Al Gore opined, “I think the cost of energy will come down when we make this transition to renewable energy.”

As the world’s economy move towards the difficult battle of finding new energy sources, the maritime transport sector is facing growing pressure from the EU who is calling for a global approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping – a large and growing source of emissions.

According to numbers from the 3rd IMO GHG Study, Maritime transport emits around 1000 million tonnes of CO2 annually and is responsible for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Shipping emissions are predicted to increase between 50% and 250%by 2050 – depending on future economic and energy developments.

One of the methods that were outlined by the EU as of 2018 was, large ships using EU ports will be from 2018 required to report their verified annual emissions and other relevant information. The rational according to the IMO is that Ships' energy consumption and CO2 emissions could be reduced by up to 75% by applying operational measures and implementing existing technologies.

The EU has also highlighted Further reductions could be achieved by implementing new innovative technologies through it’s 2011 White paper on transport which suggests that the EU's CO2 emissions from maritime transport should be cut by at least 40% from 2005 levels by 2050, and if feasible by 50%. However, international shipping is not covered by the EU's current emissions reduction targets.

In 2013, the Commission set out a strategy for progressively integrating maritime emissions into the EU's policy for reducing its domestic greenhouse gas emissions.
The strategy consists of 3 consecutive steps:

•    Monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from large ships using EU ports

•    Greenhouse gas reduction targets for the maritime transport sector

•    Further measures, including market-based measures, in the medium to long term.

Africa is responsible for only four per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but 65 per cent of its population is thought to be directly affected by climate change. The One Planet Summit will illustrate the core truth at the heart of the climate change debate: global warming has an impact on everyone on the planet, whether or not they contribute substantially to it.

The One Planet Summit in Nairobi will showcase Africa’s strengths as a vibrant place for climate innovation and investments with advances in sustainable business models, climate smart agriculture, green bonds, and renewable energy. #Oneplanetsummit

Written By Onoriode Akusu