A study on the challenges and solutions for a Just net zero transition in the shipping industry – Focusing on human factors

Net-zero emissions chemical industry in a world of limited resources

The maritime and shipping industry tremendously impact on the society and the economy across the centuries. Today shipping is, environmentally and economically, the most efficient way to transport merchandise, serving nearly 90% of world trade. Safety at sea has always been a major issue for all the parties involved in shipping from different perspectives, reasons, and interests. Shipping and maritime training that can assure this safety is a key requirement for every ship to sail and for every seafarer, of any level and rank, to get on-bard and perform any operations. However, the cost of such training can be unbearable for many shipping companies especially in emerging markets that rely much on the readiness and effectiveness of their local seafarers. The introduction of virtual reality (VR) in maritime and shipping training became a solution for all those who seek affordable and reliable professional training, but the markets indicated skepticism on the quality and reliability of such training. Furthermore, there has been significant hesitation on the validity of VR ad Metaverse shipping training and its compliance with the international maritime training certification processes. The covid-19 pandemic and the continuous lockdowns that froze the world, helped VR training to be more accepted by all industries, including the shipping and maritime industry, and to be reconsidered as an accepted training alternative. Within the first year of the pandemic, the VR training industry has exploded in terms of applications, many of which indicate a significant degree of intelligence and state-of-the-art technologies, in hardware, software and communications between the trainee, the system, and the virtual environment. The MarSIOT (Maritime Safety, for Immersive Oceans Technology) case is examined throughout this paper along with other technologies. On the other hand and despite the justified need for virtual training and the readiness of the VR industry to respond to this need a major issue that still has not been resolved, but remains under research investigation and process formulation, is the certification of virtual training scenarios, as qualified and valid professional skills, by credible certification bodies. This paper presents an analysis of the maritime and shipping VR and Metaverse training certification demand, the requirements that need to be fulfilled for VR training scenarios to be certified, and the overall certification process that can be followed. The research is based on primary and secondary research with an extensive academic literature review, a survey with 80 maritime participants, five interviews with industry experts in maritime VR training and certification, case studies on the maturity and the readiness on the VR training in maritime and shipping, and analysis on the maritime virtual training requirements from leading certification organizations in the shipping professional training. The research results indicate an initial VR training certification process that can be used as a guide for VR training organizations on their efforts to certify their professional training applications and technologies. The paper indicates research limitations and areas of further research that can be explored for the standardization of the proposed VR certification methodology and its acceptance by the international maritime and shipping industry.

Review of ammonia production and utilization: Enabling clean energy transition and net-zero climate targets

Marine economic growth, technological innovation, and industrial upgrading: A vector error correction model for China

Are development and decarbonization conflicting or complementary goals? In this report, we explore how Latin America and the Caribbean can improve socioeconomic and development outcomes while also reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Specifically, we introduce SiSePuede, an open source decarbonization modeling toolkit that evaluates decarbonization actions costs, benefits, and emissions reductions across the economy. We find that maximizing actions could achieve net-zero emissions in the region before 2050 and net $2.7 trillion in benefits compared to more traditional development. Benefits include massive fuel cost savings; avoided costs from reduced air pollution, congestion, and car crashes; and the value of ecosystem services from forests. Although there are many paths to net-zero emissions, three actions are critical: producing electricity with renewables, electrifying transport, and protecting and restoring forests by halting deforestation and shifting food-production patterns. Economy-wide strategies that implement these actions at scale can reduce emissions dramatically and net enormous benefits to the region even amid deep uncertainties, with a median of $1 trillion in net benefits across all scenarios. These benefits are unevenly distributed across sectors and actors, and across time, so realizing them and ensuring a just transition to net zero requires governments to overcome important financing, regulatory, infrastructure, and other barriers. Each country must tailor its own strategy to address development and emissions goals based on local priorities, capabilities, resources, and technical capacity. SiSePuede provides a robust analytical foundation to support these efforts.

Background. Eurointegration processes require Ukraine to join the EU initiatives, one of which is the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Climate neutrality and related concepts are currently being actively discussed in the global scientific community. Ukrainian academic literature also contains studies on this topic, but there is a noticeable lack of comprehensive works. The article explores the theoretical bases for studying climate neutrality in general and in relation to urbogeosystems in particular. Methods. The main method used is bibliometric analysis of publications retrieved from Web of Science Core Collection database. The bibliometric data were processed using the network analysis method with the help of VOSviewer software, on the basis of which the main research areas were determined. Results. It was revealed that more publications are devoted to carbon neutrality than to climate neutrality, while net-zero carbon emissions are not studied as often as net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, Ukrainian scientists more commonly use the concept of climate neutrality. The calculations made showed that climate neutrality seems to be more relevant for regional-scaled and national-scaled assessments, while the concept of carbon neutrality can be used for studying systems in which the energy sector is the main source of greenhouse gases emissions. Conclusions.In this article, the main concepts are defined and their usage in the scientific literature is analysed. The countries where such research is most actively conducted are identified, and the achievements of Ukrainian scientists are analysed. The difference between climate neutrality, net zero emissions, carbon neutrality and net zero carbon emissions is described. Based on the analysis of the component composition of emissions, the expediency of using these concepts depending on the specifics of the study is substantiated. The main problems that arise when choosing the object and subject of research are outlined, and ways to solve them are presented. The main approaches to determining the coverage of sources of greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration in the study of urbogeosystems are analyzed. The application of these approaches in the recommendations for greenhouse gas inventories is investigated. The article substantiates the prospects of studying climate neutrality for both large industrial centers and small urbanized systems, which are easier to achieve climate neutrality.

Under rapid global warming, changes in the climate system are increasingly evident and detectable, even for extremes and at the local scale. This, in part, has motivated countries to target achieving net zero emissions in the coming decades and to limit further global warming in line with the Paris Agreement. Climate changes under net zero emissions are projected to be substantial but may be harder to detect. It is critical that changes under net zero are well understood, both in terms of the effects of delay in emissions cessation and how these changes differ across timescales.Here, we use a set of net zero 1000-year-long ACCESS-ESM-1.5 simulations to study the detectability of climate changes given a range of emission cessation years. We demonstrate that some local climate changes and changes in climate variability and extremes under net zero emissions may be significant enough to be detectable over human lifetimes. Some large-scale changes, especially in the cryosphere and oceans, and in the Southern Hemisphere, would be detectable within years or decades of emissions cessation. The benefits of earlier emissions cessation are also detectable even at the local scale.This kind of analysis is not currently possible in a multi-model framework. A lack of planned coordinated net zero experiments on timescales beyond 300 years has the potential to undermine policymaking related to long-term climate changes. Using findings from the ACCESS-ESM-1.5 experiments, we demonstrate the problems that a lack of long net zero emissions simulations poses and call for coordinated 1000-year-long simulations.We also argue that communication of ongoing climate changes under net zero emissions needs to go beyond projected global-average temperature changes (i.e. the Zero Emissions Commitment or ZEC) and emphasise other Earth System changes and local climate changes.

Achieving net zero emissions has rapidly become the dominant long‐term objective guiding national climate policies. At the end of 2018, only 24 countries were considering or had adopted long‐term net zero targets. By the end of 2021, this had climbed to almost 150 countries, covering 89 per cent of global carbon emissions. In this article, we trace the origins and diffusion of net zero pledges through the lens of international norm theory. Drawing on a newly compiled database of national net zero targets, our analysis highlights the critical role played by climate scientists, transnational advocacy networks, and norm entrepreneurs in articulating the norm of net zero emissions. The IPCC's fifth assessment report was foundational, by introducing the concept of a cumulative carbon budget, allowing translation of abstract temperature goals into more actionable net zero targets. The norm of net zero has been institutionalised at the global political level in the period 2015–2018 and cascaded through the international system in 2019–2020. Yet, it remains subject to various forms of contestation, most notably regarding validity, fairness, scope, and implementation. The norm is now at a critical stage in its lifecycle that will decide whether it gets institutionalised or suffers backsliding and even erosion.

Digital transformation and the circular economy: Creating a competitive advantage from the transition towards Net Zero Manufacturing

This study analyzed energy and technological implications in the energy sector to attain net zero emissions in Thailand by 2050. The study used AIM/Enduse, a bottom-up type energy system model, as an analytical tool. A business-as-usual and a net zero emission scenario are analyzed. Net zero emission scenarios are assessed in terms of net zero greenhouse gas emissions (NZE-GHG). Results show that the GHG emissions from the energy sector in the BAU would reach 635 MtCO2e in 2050. Decarbonization of the energy sector and transition towards net zero emission by 2050 in Thailand would require rapid deployment of renewable energy sources like solar, wind and biomass. In net zero scenario, installed capacity of solar PV and wind for power generation in 2050 would reach 64 GW and 40 GW, respectively. In addition, this study assesses the role of green hydrogen in achieving net zero target. The 200 GW solar capacity would be required to produce green hydrogen for decarbonizing the transport, industrial as well as power sector. The high carbon sequestration from LULUCF sector in Thailand will make it possible to reach net zero emission with carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology in the energy sector. Additional bioenergy or CCS technologies will need to be deployed in the power sector if the renewables cannot be deployed to the desirable extent.

The ‘oil capital of Europe’ in the net zero transition: A corpus linguistics analysis of Aberdeenshire newspapers

There is growing interest in how the climate would change under net zero carbon dioxide emissions pathways as many nations aim to reach net zero in coming decades. In today's rapidly warming world, many changes in the climate are detectable, even in the presence of internal variability, but whether climate changes under net zero would be detectable is less well understood. Here, we use a bespoke set of 1000-year-long net zero carbon dioxide emissions simulations branching from different points in the 21st century to examine the detectability of large-scale and local climate changes as time passes under net zero emissions. We find that many changes under net zero become detectable within centuries. While local changes and changes in extremes are more challenging to detect, warming in the Southern Hemisphere and cooling in the Northern Hemisphere becomes detectable at many locations within a few centuries under net zero emissions. We also study detectability of differences in climate indices due to delays in achieving emissions cessation. We find that for global mean surface temperature and other large-scale indices, such as Antarctic and Arctic sea ice extent, the effects of even a five-year delay in emissions cessation are detectable. Short delays in emissions cessation result in significantly different local temperatures for most of the planet, and most of the global population. The long simulations used here help with identifying local climate change signals. Multi-model frameworks will be useful to examine confidence in these changes and ultimately improve understanding of post-net zero climate changes.

There is growing interest in how the climate would change under net zero carbon dioxide emissions pathways as many nations aim to reach net zero in coming decades. In today's rapidly warming world, many changes in the climate are detectable, even in the presence of internal variability, but whether climate changes under net zero are expected to be detectable is less well understood. Here, we use a set of 1000‐year‐long net zero carbon dioxide emissions simulations branching from different points in the 21st century to examine detectability of large‐scale, regional and local climate changes as time passes under net zero emissions. We find that even after net zero, there are continued detectable changes to climate for centuries. While local changes and changes in extremes are more challenging to detect, Southern Hemisphere warming and Northern Hemisphere cooling become detectable at many locations within a few centuries under net zero emissions. We also study how detectable delays in achieving emissions cessation are across climate indices. We find that for global mean surface temperature and other large‐scale indices, such as Antarctic and Arctic sea ice extent, the effects of an additional 5 years of high greenhouse gas emissions are detectable. Such delays in emissions cessation result in significantly different local temperatures for most of the planet, and most of the global population. The long simulations used here help with identifying local climate change signals. Multi‐model frameworks will be useful to examine confidence in these changes and improve understanding of post‐net zero climate changes.

In recent years, the target of reaching “net zero” emissions by 2050 has come to the forefront of global climate politics. Net zero would see carbon emissions matched by carbon removals and should allow the planet to avoid dangerous climate change. But the recent prominence of this goal should not distract from the fact that there are many possible versions of net zero. Each of them will have different climate justice implications, and some of them could have very negative consequences for the world's poor. This article demonstrates the many ambiguities of net zero, and argues in favor of a net zero strategy in which those who can reasonably bear the burden adopt early and aggressive mitigation policies. We also argue for a net zero strategy in which countries place the lion's share of their faith in known emissions reduction approaches, rather than being heavily reliant on as-yet-unproven “negative emissions techniques.” Our overarching goal is to put net zero in its place, by providing a clear-sighted view of what net zero will achieve, and where the “net” in net zero needs to be tightened further if the world is to achieve climate justice.

Impact of sci-tech finance on the innovation efficiency of China's marine industry