Ships working with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which is offered as a clean and non-polluting fuel, actually do not provide any advantage for the atmosphere. And these could be even more pollutants than those from fuel oil, according to research published by the Transport and Environment agency, which specializes in the impact of maritime traffic.
International shipping currently accounts for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere, a rate similar to that produced by aviation. The UN has warned that this rate will rise to 17% by 2050 if no action is taken.
With this warning in the table and the non-binding demands of the European shipbuilding industry to reduce CO2 emissions from all ships by 40% by 2030 (compared to 2018 levels), the industry is in a period of restructuring its activities. , starting with something as simple as the fuel that keeps it moving.
And in this race to replace traditional fuel for ships, liquefied natural gas (LNG) – natural gas in liquid form – has been gaining ground by leaps and bounds in recent years.
Although still a fossil fuel, benefits such as reductions in greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides or fine particles are attributed to liquefied natural gas.
Methane is key
Faced with the proliferation of LNG as a ‘green’ alternative to maritime transport, European organization Transport & Environment decided to investigate its true impact on greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. His conclusion is clear: Liquefied natural gas is not only a solution to climate change, but also contributes to its acceleration. Key? methane.
Although T&E does not produce ‘eco’ ships shipped with LNG, smoke The dark toxic cloud is responsible for a serious emission “not visible to the naked eye” of unburned methane, which percolates into the atmosphere and exacerbates global warming.
The organization used an infrared camera with a special filter to detect hydrocarbon gases. In the port of Rotterdam (Netherlands), the largest in Europe. Together with this team, he studied emissions of the best-known greenhouse gas methane from ships.
Optical gas imaging specialist TCHD Consulting analyzed images from the Ecodelta vessel, as well as the French-based giant Louvre container ship CMA CGM. According to Transport & Environment, both vessels They showed the release of “heavy” emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, which are losses in ship engines.
That’s why Transport & Environment points out that around 80% of the liquefied gas burned in ship engines produces more environmental problems than conventional engines using fuel oil.
To explain this, they provide, as visual evidence, an image taken with an infrared camera in which the heat and gaseous emissions from the exhaust stacks of the engines of one of the ships analyzed can be seen.
As you move away from the stack, the bright light disappears, leaving behind a cloud of gas, emitting unburned hydrocarbon emissions. In LNG, 90% of its composition is usually According to T&E, methane, a harmful agent to the health of the planet, has 80 times more global warming power than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
sustaining fossil fuels
Europe is hiding a dark secret at sea. By promoting LNG ships, European leaders are leading us irrevocably towards a future highly dependent on this fossil fuel. As green as they can be painted, most LNG-powered ships on the market today are much more climate-damaging than fossil-fueled ships. condemns Delphine Gozillon, head of this organization’s Shipping department.
With these results, Transport & Environment criticizes that the spread of LNG has responded to pressure from the fossil gas sector, consolidating it as an “ecological” solution and minimizing the true scope of methane spills.
The business ensures that two-thirds of new floating vessels are powered by LNG by 2025.This will mean that one fifth of the fuel used in the European maritime sector in 2030 will continue to use fossil fuels in this way until 2040.
“We are in the midst of a climate crisis, we can’t afford to release more methane into the atmosphere. Our research is just a small sample, but it should serve as a warning to policymakers: to opt for LNG is to bet on the losing horse. Instead, we should prioritize 100% green solutions based on all-green hydrogen,” adds Gozillon.
Source: https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/el-metano-que-escapa-de-los-barcos-propulsados-por-gas-natural-agrava-la-crisis-climatica-investigacion/
Environment department contact address:crisclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
