I don't usually think about it ... January 21, 20:51
The clothes I'm wearing today, the wine I drank yesterday ...
Our surroundings are full of products that have crossed the sea from all over the world.
I don't usually think about it, but it is the ship that carries them.
A wave of great change is rushing into the world.
(Reporter, Social Affairs Department, Yuji Suda)
In a room in Kasumigaseki at midnight ... International conferences in about 110 countries
Last November, at midnight, a meeting was held in a room of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Kasumigaseki.
Looking inside, it was English that was flying around.
Representatives from about 110 countries participated in the IMO = International Maritime Organization's Marine Environmental Protection Committee, which was held online under the influence of the new coronavirus.
The presidency is Japan.
The theme is "ship" global warming countermeasures.
Speaking of global warming countermeasures, there may be an image of setting greenhouse gas reduction targets for each country, but there is no concept of "country-by-country" for ships that travel between countries.
You may think that you should consider it based on the nationality of the ship, but in many cases it is registered in another country for convenience because of low taxes, and according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 80% of the world's ships. Is the flag of developing countries.
For this reason, IMO is working to reduce the number of vessels by using "international shipping," which refers to ships traveling around the world, rather than a country-specific approach.
"International Shipping" What are the greenhouse gas emissions?
So how much greenhouse gas is emitted from "international shipping"?
The graph above shows the world's carbon dioxide emissions compiled by the IEA (International Energy Agency) in 2017 data.
A total of 32.8 billion tons worldwide, of which 2.1% are ships.
This is 2.2% of emissions comparable to Germany alone.
By the way, Japan is 3.4%, and Prime Minister Suga has stated that it will be zero as a whole by 2050.
The IMO is raising a sense of crisis, saying, "Don't miss the efforts of each country."
"International shipping" 1.4 times in 10 years Japan also depends heavily
Behind the sense of crisis is the increase in international shipping volume due to globalization.
It is expected to increase 1.4 times in the 10 years to 2018 and triple in 2050, and if nothing is done, greenhouse gas emissions will increase accordingly.
IMO has been gradually making rules in the wake of discussions on global warming countermeasures in the 1990s.
Scandinavia and Japan are driving the debate.
Meat, seafood, food such as fruits, energy such as coal, raw materials for clothes ...
Japan relies on foreign countries for many things, and the ratio of ships to the means of import transportation is 99.7%.
Because the transportation cost is lower than that of an airplane, Japan is two sides of the same coin as a maritime power, and it is also a "ship-dependent" power.
New rules for "eco-friendly all ships"
At the committee at the beginning of the article, the Presidency of Japan, in collaboration with several countries, proposed and approved new rules requiring greenhouse gas reductions.
To put it simply, the new rule is "eco-friendly for all ships."
Until now, there have been restrictions on emissions for newly built ships.
The new rules will also regulate the fuel economy of existing vessels and encourage them to operate at the lowest possible speeds to make them eco-friendly.
It is said that there were some opposition, especially in developing countries, that the cost would increase due to the replacement of ships, but Hideaki Saito, the technical deputy director of the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, who also serves as the chairman, worked persistently in each country. It is said that consent was obtained.
Technical Deputy Director Saito, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
"Japan has been coordinating with each country for this proposal for more than half a year before the conference to spread understanding. It is extremely important that almost all ships in the world have a regulatory framework in place. I think this is the first step. We must take leadership and lead the reduction as "international shipping" because Japan is a maritime powerhouse. "
What is the development status of the future ship "Eco Ship"?
The world of ships is flooded with waves of great change.
Japanese shipping and shipbuilding companies are rushing to look ahead.
Now, each company is focusing on the development of "eco-ship" to improve fuel efficiency.
Of these, NYK, a major shipping company, announced a concept vessel with the goal of developing a large cargo ship with zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050.
Hydrogen energy that does not emit carbon dioxide is used as energy, and sunlight is also used.
It is also equipped with an "air circulation system" that sends air to the bottom of the ship to reduce resistance due to friction between the bottom of the ship and seawater.
Regarding the use of hydrogen energy for ships, some demonstration experiments have just begun, and although it is "a story ahead ...", some technologies such as air circulation systems have already been put into practical use.
In November of last year, for the first time in Japan, a large cargo ship that sailed with LNG = liquefied natural gas, which emits less greenhouse gas than conventional heavy oil, went into service.
It is difficult to reach "zero" by jumping one step, but each company is refining its technology to run efficiently.
The person in charge of development said, "It seems that the reduction effect of a single technology is only a few percent, but the accumulation of these will produce a great effect. I am proud that Japan's shipbuilding technology is the best in the world. Only technology can solve the warming problem. I don't think it can be solved, so I would like to continue researching new ways of ships. "
How far is "automatic operation"?
Adhering to the demonstration experiment
In addition, there is another approach in which the country is the flag-bearer.
It is the development of self-operated vessels.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has set a goal of putting a ship equipped with a remote or automatic navigation system using radar and cameras into practical use by 2025 in order to establish an internationally superior field in ship technology development. It is listed.
The main purpose of practical application is to reduce accidents and reduce the burden on seafarers, but surprisingly, it also works positively for the environment.
Once the automatic operation technology is established, AI will suggest the optimum route and adjust the navigation speed.
The fuel consumption of a ship is optimal, it is suppressed if it is constant, and if it is possible to analyze weather and sea conditions information and get on the tide, efficiency will increase.
In addition, if each ship can take the optimum route, it is expected that fuel consumption will be reduced during the so-called "waiting" time of staying without entering the port.
So how far has the automatic operation technology advanced?
Last December, Kobe University and others conducted a demonstration experiment of a system that automatically steers with AI in Osaka Bay.
This AI learns by making a total of 24 million judgments to avoid ships around its own ship by simulation.
In the demonstration experiment, we confirmed whether it could be avoided firmly based on the information of AIS = automatic identification system, which shows the position information of the ship.
The area of the red ellipse in the photo above is the area where the ship equipped with the AI system judges safety.
The AI was based on the direction of the destination indicated by the light blue line, but automatically changed the speed and direction when another ship approached the area to avoid it.
It was a mysterious feeling that I was always pinched by the situation where the computer performed "command of the ship" without touching the steering wheel.
Development centered on the
system
Professor Hiroshi Hashimoto, Osaka Prefecture University
"It was confirmed that the system
behaves in the
same way as the simulation on land and functions correctly. If the demonstration experiment proceeds, not only safety avoidance but also safety avoidance It is expected that we will be able to determine the optimal route, and I think it will be in the near future. "
Awareness of personal belongings as the momentum for decarbonization increases
Trade by ship is gaining momentum toward the realization of a carbon-free society internationally, such as the new President Biden of the United States signing a document to return to the "Paris Agreement", an international framework for combating global warming. Further expectations are raised for technological development in Japan, a major country.
However, I wasn't aware of how the daily necessities and groceries in front of me were carried and how they were related to greenhouse gases until I interviewed them.
I think some people are not even aware of it.
When I interviewed him, there was an initiative that originated in the United Kingdom to make people feel closer to these distant things.
It is a system called "carbon footprint" that calculates how much carbon dioxide is emitted in the process of product production and consumption.
For example, in the case of foods using vegetables, the tractor used when cultivating raw materials, the truck carried to the store, and the amount of emissions in the manufacturing and delivery processes are clearly indicated on the package, etc. There is a movement to spread it in Japan as well.
It is a story that will lead to the SDGs that are currently attracting attention.
It's hard to say "countermeasures against global warming", but sometimes I think of it as "myself", "what kind of ship shook the coffee beans I'm drinking now?" However, it may be the first step.
Reporter of the Social Affairs Department
Yuji Suda Joined the station in 2014
.
The starting place is Matsue Bureau.
After working in charge of the Metropolitan Police Department, he was in charge of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (sea field).
Born in Nagano prefecture without the sea.