ABC Carbon Express Turns Blue: All at Sea? |
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The Pacific is the oldest of the existing ocean basins. Its oldest rocks have been dated at about 200 million years. The Pacific basin is referred to as the “Ring of Fire” due to intense earthquake and volcanic activity occurring near areas of tectonic plate subduction (where one tectonic plate is forced under another). Image credit: COMET Program and US National Ocean Service, US.
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Oceans are Going Through Swift,
Stark & Severe Changes
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The global ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and is responsible for regulating the Earth’s climate and sustaining life. However, the ocean is undergoing swift, stark, and severe changes from natural variations, over-exploitation, and anthropogenic influences. Human-induced climate change has already contributed roughly 1.1°C to global warming, causing unprecedented changes which are affecting the ocean, its coasts, and its composition. This from the Copernicus Marine Service, drawing on Mercator Ocean International expertise, which has just launched a new set of Ocean Explainers pages. These cover three key themes:
- Phenomena and threats: covers the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the ocean, such as ocean warming and acidification
- Policies: summarises the strategies put in place to protect the ocean
- Operational oceanography: presents the science behind oceanography.
Copernicus Marine also provides knowledge on the changing global ocean in the IPCC’s latest climate report. And see why UNEP thinks there are five reasons why a healthy ocean is linked to human rights. There's so much more to read and absorb with a nautical/ocean connections in this issue. - Ken Hickson
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Oceans of Clean Energy in Asia & Pacific |
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Profile: Dr Fraser Thompson
When I first heard about the rather ambitious project coming out of Australia to build an undersea cable to bring green electricity - clean emission-free energy - from what will be the world’s largest solar farm near Darwin, Australia to Singapore, I wondered how this was possible and how it could be funded. When I interviewed Sun Cable co-founder Dr Thompson, on the sidelines of Singapore International Energy Week in October where he was a featured speaker, I was convinced the project is just what Australia and Singapore needs. For different reasons. Read the rest.
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Hydrogen for Argentine & Australia: Not satisfied with being the greatest advocate for, and investor in, green hydrogen in Australia, Andrew Forrest has embarked on a plan to build a 15GW green hydrogen project in Argentina. It will be part of his plan to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, and 40 million by 2040, including a 2GW electrolyser factory in Queensland with partner Plug Power. There’s another big hydrogen project planned for Australia, in the Northern Territory, by Aqua Aerem. The US$10.75 billion Desert Bloom Hydrogen project will use solar energy and water captured from the atmosphere to produce green hydrogen. Read more
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Decarbonisation of the Maritime Sector |
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Capturing Wind & Clearing Plastic
from the World's Oceans
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Profile Tim Cornelius, CEO of Global Energy Group, is in the news this month with the announcement obroadcastf an agreement with Haizea Wind Group to build a state-of-the-art wind tower factory at the Port of Nigg, Scotland, which will be a leading example of the ‘green recovery’ in action. It will create more than 400 direct long term, high-value jobs and the opportunity to buy ‘Scottish’ – meaning offshore wind developers can achieve their local content targets whilst helping the UK economy recover in a green and sustainable way. Read more about Tim and Global Energy Group.
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OCEAN PLASTIC: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reports that more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the early 1950s. About 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a landfill or the natural environment. Oceans bear the brunt of this. In a damning report, the Mindaroo Foundation earlier this year stated that if the growth in single-use plastic production continues at current rates, they could account for five to 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.The Alliance to End Plastic Waste launched its annual progress report on 8 December, which highlights how the organisation’s projects are beginning to deliver impact, after 2 years of foundation-laying work. Jacob Duer, President and CEO of the Alliance, says it remains "fully committed to our ambition of diverting millions of tons of plastic waste from the environment.” Read all about it.
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With Oceans of Food Waste, Let's Explore Alternative Sources for Humans and Animals |
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SUSTAINABLE FOODS ON LAND SEA OR AIR: Best known as an airline food caterer, SATS is now Asia's leading provider of food solutions and gateway services. And its subsidiary SATS-Creuers Cruise Services (SCCS) was just voted Asia’s Best Cruise Terminal at the inaugural World Cruise Awards 2021. Along with feeding ocean-going cruise line passengers, this enables us to keep to our maritime theme. We were at the same Arts House location last month, when SATS announced it’s working with alternative protein brands and food tech startups to drive consumer adoption of sustainable foods. With its wholly-owned subsidiary, Country Foods, SATS is harnessing its culinary expertise across many cuisines, high food safety standards, food technologies and global distribution network and help Singapore achieve its "30 by 30" vision and raising its profile as a food innovation hub. There’s more to sample.
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CUT SEAFOOD WASTE: Tackling inefficiencies in the food supply chain, TreeDots began as a surplus food marketplace for businesses and now also serves consumers through a social commerce platform. Whether a retailer or restaurateur, you can go online to select from a wide range of products from poultry, seafood - there's the ocean connection - to fruits & vegetables from over 50+ suppliers on the platform. The company started its operations in Singapore, expanded into Malaysia last year, and expects further regional expansion ahead. Globally, one third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. In Asia, the majority of the problem is caused by inefficient supply chains. Aesthetically imperfect food often finds its way to the landfill, even though it’s just as fresh and nutritious as the normal goods found on grocery store shelves. Food waste accounts for about 11% of the total waste generated in Singapore. The overall amount of food waste generated in 2020 was 665,000 tonnes. Let's see if TreeDots can make a difference. Read More.
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SEAWEED SOLUTION: Here's a case where the ocean could make a big difference on land. In a step towards a potential solution to dairy farm emissions, Fonterra has partnered with Sea Forest to see if using seaweed in cows’ feed can reduce greenhouse gasses. Read More.
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Not all at Sea: "We Rise by Lifting Others" |
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LIFTS FROM SHIP TO SHORE: Energy efficient vertical transportation has become a pressing challenge, not just globally but also in Singapore, where there are about 70,000 passenger lifts and 7,000 escalators operate. There are also a lot of ships in the busy port city with lifts and escalators which need regular maintenance. We met with Tristan Foureur, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of WeMaintain, in Singapore recently, who shared his insights on the energy consumption in buildings in Southeast Asia, and how his company can help make buildings more sustainable by saving significant amounts of energy. But he makes it clear that technology is not enough as WeMaintain “re-imagines the existing model with customer satisfaction at its core to develop a new standard for buildings”. He believes that we must give back responsibility, time and recognition to the engineers: the true experts of maintenance and efficiency, who are “indispensable for successful performance.” Find out more about WeMaintain here.
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New Sustainability Partnership Proposed for Energy & Food Security in the Asia Pacific? |
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Attending the "Sustainability: The Heart of Business Success" event organised by the NZ Chamber in Singapore in November, prompted Ken Hickson to propose a new partnership initiative for Singapore and New Zealand to move ahead to deal with energy security and food security for the region. Read all about it.
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Coming Soon:
Focus on Forests & The Art of Travel
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NOTE FROM THE EDTOR:
READERS WILL HAVE TO WAIT A FEW DAYS LONGER FOR FOCUS ON FORESTS AND THE ART OF TRAVEL, WHICH HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED IN ISSUES OF ABC CARBON EXPRESS IN RECENT MONTHS.
KEN HICKSON
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