EMEA News
UK Shipping Fuel Consumption 250% Higher Than Previous Estimates
The University College London (UCL) Energy Institute says a new report by UMAS and Ricardo Energy & Environment shows that UK's domestic shipping fuel consumption is 250 percent higher than previously estimated.
The report's finding are based on a revised modelling methodology used to estimate the emissions of shipping for the UK's National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI), with the domestic fuel consumption estimate under the new model registering in at approximately two and a half times that of the existing NAEI for 2014.
The increase is largely attributed to improved activity coverage across existing vessel categories and new vessel types not previously estimated.
"This work shows that the UK's efforts to decarbonise and improve air quality must include domestic shipping. Not only does this study show that we formerly underestimated the significance of domestic shipping, but reinforces the concern that without action this sector will become an increasing share of UK's GHG," said Dr. Tristan Smith, Director of UMAS and Reader in Energy and Shipping at the UCL Energy Institute.
"The sooner we understand the air quality implications particularly in port cities of domestic shipping, the sooner cost-effective and sustainable strategies to address the coupled GHG and air quality issues can be developed."
The UCL Energy Institute says the new methodology used by the report is a "considerable improvement" to the existing methodology used in the NAEI in terms of vessel coverage, fuel consumption and emission factors, as well as the account of varying vessel operations and movement characteristics.
