IMarEST to publish Climate Change Position Statement

Working to this strongly held belief, the Institute will publish its powerful Position Statement on Climate Change on Tuesday 13 October at the ‘Marine Environmental Briefing – Practical implications of new technology’ event being staged to celebrate IMarEST President’s Day. The event will take place at IMarEST Headquarters in central London.

‘The IMarEST has a noble vision of a world where marine resources and activities are sustained, managed and developed for the benefit of humanity, so it is indeed fitting that our 107th President, Michael Everard CBE, has opted to dedicate his President’s Day to an issue of such key importance to our members, the sectors they serve, and the planet as a whole’, said Dr Marcus Jones, chief executive of IMarEST.

IMarEST predicts that members of the marine community can expect to be affected by climate change in many ways. These include more extreme weather events and displacement of traditional weather patterns, changes in ocean currents which affect weather routing, and changes in observed marine life (abundance, locations, etc).

There will also be enhanced legislation placing onerous operational restrictions both in state controlled and in international waters. Emission limitations involving GHGs and chemicals will be enforced.

Speed and other restrictions aimed at limiting CO2 emissions in particular will be imposed and there will be very strict limitation of methane emissions from power systems and from industrial or transportation processes. Rapid technological and legislative change will take place in order to eliminate the impacts of various marine operations on the atmosphere, climate and ocean biospheres.

On the day, sessions will be devoted to: Shipping and the impact of climate change; Environmental legislation over the horizon; Implications of legislation from a ship owners’ perspective; Reducing the functional drag of ships; Air pollution: Control of emissions from diesels and gas turbines and Implications of Carbon Index; Ballast water; Garbage and sewage; Environmental impacts of increased Arctic Shipping; and Underwater transmitted noise.

The day will be rounded off by the President’s Evening Lecture by an invited speaker on the topic ‘Climate change – underlying themes’.

Led by Morleymor Fisher MBE, Chairman of the IMarEST Technical Policy Committee, the Marine Environmental Briefing Day will see the publication of its Climate Change Position Paper, and the staging of a highly topical and extremely relevant event designed to inform Members and non-Members alike of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Further information including the outline programme for ‘Marine Environmental Briefing – Practical implications of new technology’ and online registration are available at the IMarEST website.