.As interest in green corridors ramps up, and various entities and signatories to the Clydebank Declaration start in earnest to work out what they actually need to do, the Global Maritime Forum has published a paper that compares how the green corridors are defined, and how plans are being initiated and implemented. From the paper’s executive summary:
…the paper considers emerging approaches to defining, initiating, and governing Maritime Green Corridors, and puts forward recommendations in each area. These recommendations attempt to reinforce the most effective and impactful approaches while acknowledging the need for flexibility
Two recent blogs from the Met Office relating to Sea Level Rise. From the first blog:
Rising sea levels can cause significant impacts for infrastructure, coastal communities and wildlife across the globe, and it is clear that a combined approach, implementing both mitigation and adaptation measures, is necessary to avoid the worst of these impacts.
We’ve known for a while that sea-level rise is inevitable: that is, whatever we do to address carbon emissions now or in the future that the seas have already warmed enough that some glacial ice will melt. The question is one of “how much” rather than “if”.
Two things stand out: the figures quoted are alarming (27 cm as a “very conservative rock-bottom minimum”), but also of note is the way that the research was conducted. This study makes predictions based on analysing satellite images of previous losses, rather than using mathematical models which have an inherent amount of uncertainty.
The research shows the global heating to date will cause an absolute minimum sea-level rise of 27cm (10.6in) from Greenland alone as 110tn tonnes of ice melt. With continued carbon emissions, the melting of other ice caps and thermal expansion of the ocean, a multi-metre sea-level rise appears likely.
Two links to share that relate to developing economies, and the opportunities and challenges of a sustainable maritime sector:
First, a reminder that this year’s World Maritime Day is on Thursday, 29 September 2022. This year’s theme is New Technologies for Greener Shipping. From the UN page for this observance:
The theme for this year reflects the need to support a green transition of the maritime sector into a sustainable future, while leaving no one behind. It provides an opportunity to focus on the importance of a sustainable maritime sector and the need to build back better and greener in a post pandemic world.
Developing and emerging economies around the world are integral for the transition to zero-emission shipping. With their substantial renewable energy resources, these countries have great potential to not only develop production and bunkering of green fuels – ranging from the domestic fleet and small vessels to deep-sea ocean-going vessels – but also in some cases to export these fuels as a new commodity. The benefits associated with the production of scalable zero-emission fuels are widespread, supporting sustainable development goals, reducing maritime and land-based emissions, bolstering economic and job growth, among others. South Africa, Mexico, and Indonesia are three such countries with strategic opportunities to contribute to shipping’s decarbonization.
This webinar will share outcomes from the P4G-Getting to Zero Partnership project, highlighting key findings and recommendations from our recently published & soon-to-be published reports on these three countries.
Why we all need a long weekend away from our devices
Photo and graphics: author
August 2022: Two summers ago, I wrote about the concept of using a public holiday to take a break from our screens. It’s an idea I’ve lost sight of during recent holidays, but I’ve just deleted social media apps from my phone (which I’ll write more about later). With luck, this will make the coming holiday a little easier to be screen-free.
I dream of three days without beeps and flashes. Three days without scrolling. Three days without picking up a glowing rectangle.
Just as a normal public holiday (or bank holiday) gives us time off from work, I propose celebrating a screen holiday to claim time off from our devices.
Anything that improves our health and wellbeing is sustainable. Remember that sustainability is not only about the environment, but the social and economic aspects. If we can spend less time on our devices then we could all be healthier as a result.
There are secondary benefits: we can spend more time in, and engaging with, the natural environment; we can focus on noticing things and stop our interactions with the world from being surface-level only; and we can be of the world, instead of just passing through it.
What does it entail?
Just as a public holiday gives us time off from work, a screen holiday gives us a break from our phones and other devices. This coming public holiday weekend (Summer Bank Holiday in England and Wales) is a good place in which to anchor such an experiment: a time, not too long, when not too many people are trying to get in touch with us.
And who knows? If the screen holiday weekend is successful, maybe we’ll be inspired to try a screen holiday week?
How do we do it?
I don’t advocate a complete removal of our phones, but an end to non-essential use. I plan to keep my phone on me in case I need to make an emergency call, take a photo, or check the weather.
What I suggest is an end to casual use: the aimless scroll, the pick-up during moments of boredom. Some suggestions on how to make this work:
Carry other distractions. If we’re in the habit of picking up our phones as a distraction in quiet moments, we should carry something else that can serve that purpose, say a book or a magazine, a sketchbook, or a pocket notebook. Otherwise, make a habit of noticing our surroundings, stretching, or grabbing a moment of reflection.
Turn off notifications. An extreme example would be to turn off all notifications, particularly for the most distracting of apps, but I find the easiest thing is to switch on do not disturb. For peace of mind, we can change our settings to make exceptions for family or close friends, so they can still reach us in an emergency.
August 2022: I’ve actually changed my mind about this last bit of advice. I’ve come to think we don’t owe anyone an explanation if we seek to change our communication habits, especially if we’re doing it for reasons of self-improvement. Most messages we receive can wait. If anyone can’t understand or support that, then there’s a deeper question we need to ask about that relationship.
Finally, I suggest we start our screen holiday on Friday night, as soon as we finish work. That’s when most of us consider the holiday starts, right? No putting it off until Saturday morning, because there’s always the risk that we’ll put it off further still.
Notepaths 