Highlights for Friday, 5 October 2007
On Friday morning, participants continued discussions in two parallel groups, one on emissions from aviation and the other on emissions from maritime transport. Participants in each group heard presentations on different models for calculating emissions and possible future data requirements. Each group also held a discussion session. The discussion on aviation was moderated by Falk Heinen, Germany, while the discussion on maritime transport was moderated by Mark Major, European Commission.
On international aviation emissions, co-chair Sara Aagesen said the main conclusion for the group was that data, modeling tools and methods to solve the emissions reporting shortcomings exist within the aviation sector. She noted the challenges non-Annex I countries faced regarding data collection, and highlighted features of the various emission models that had been presented. Falk Heinen reported the discussion session from the aviation group included, among others: availability of aviation emissions data; applications for modeling data, and harmonizing assumptions amongst different models; future data requirements under possible climate regimes; and technical requirements for emissions reporting and mitigation measures. He noted that policy measures were needed to implement the technical requirements.
On marine transport emissions, co-chair Sveinung Oftedal said that statistics on emissions from international shipping have improved recently due to increased research. Underlining that the activity-based approach gives more precise data than marine bunker sales, he said IMO's long range tracking system will provide for a more accurate activity-based approach. Oftedal emphasized the importance of free-of-charge data for research. He further noted that mandatory reporting on bunker fuels is needed, highlighting that ship owners already have accurate data on bunker fuel volumes used, and that no technical barriers exist to use this data. On reporting domestic versus international fuel sales, he said that states face difficulties.
Jan Karlsson, EEA, presented the main conclusions of the workshop, including: that as maritime and aviation sectors were more different than similar, future discussions should be separate; even though climate change is high up on the ICAO and IMO agendas, aviation and maritime emissions will continue to rise significantly in the near future due to strong sectoral growth; IPCC guidelines provide comprehensive details on emissions reporting; and that institutional barriers are greater than technical barriers for emission inventory reporting. He noted ICAO and IMO did not differentiate between non-Annex I and Annex I countries, and that difficulties still exist in separating international and national emissions. For the aviation sector, he concluded that data collection and modelling were well developed and can contribute to emissions allocation models, and that the inclusion of aviation in future regimes was technically feasible and requires institutional acceptance. He said that conclusions from the maritime session included: that maritime emission data exist, but are less available than aviation data; that improvements to emissions models are needed to inform policy discussions; and that the lack of reporting on offshore bunkering causes uncertainties in statistics on bunkers sold. He noted that 75% of ships are registered in non-Annex I countries but are owned by Annex I countries, and said that this could be problematic if ships registered in non-Annex I countries are exempt from future climate regime.
Marit Viktoria Pettersen, Ministry of the Environment, Norway, then thanked participants for sharing ideas, experiences and expertise, and drew attention to a side-event that Norway will organize during UNFCCC COP-13 in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007, to present the conclusions from this workshop. She closed the meeting at 2:50 pm.
