BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct.14
By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:
A rapid replacement of fossil fuels with renewable fuels based on green hydrogen and advanced biofuels could enable to cut up to 80 percent of CO2 emissions attributed to international maritime shipping by mid-century, Trend reports with reference to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Renewable fuels should contribute at least 70 oercebt of the sector’s energy mix in 2050, reads IRENA’s A Pathway to Decarbonise the Shipping Sector by 2050.If the international shipping sector were a country, it would be the sixth- or seventh-largest CO2 emitter.
IRENA’s decarbonisation 1.5°C pathway is based on four key measures such as indirect electrification by employing green hydrogen-based fuels, the inclusion of advanced biofuels, the improvement of vessels’ energy efficiency and the reduction of sectoral activity due systemic changes in global trade dynamics.
In the short term, advanced biofuels will play a key role in cutting emissions, providing up to 10 percent of the sector’s total energy mix in 2050. In the medium and long-term green hydrogen-based fuels will be pivotal, making up 60 percent of the energy mix in 2050. E-methanol and e-ammonia are the most promising green hydrogen-based fuels, with particularly e-ammonia set to be the backbone for the sector’s decarbonising by 2050. IRENA report flags that e-ammonia could represent as much as 43 percent of the sector’s energy needs in 2050, which would imply the use of about 183 million tonnes of renewable ammonia for international shipping alone, a comparable amount to today’s ammonia global production.
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