June 3, 2011
Keywords: Climate Change Energy Conservation Government Transportation / Mobility
According to the outline of Japan's fiscal 2011 budget released on January 20, 2011, enhancing the competitiveness of ferry and coastal shipping services by transitioning to low carbon operations will be among the key priorities drawn up by the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. These transportation modes are recognized as major players in a modal shift and the measure is expected to reenergize their growth.
A total of 554 million yen is earmarked for the project, a 5.5-fold increase from the previous year's 102 million yen. The substantial increase in the budget is in response to a sharp decline in long-distance ferry transport in recent years, particularly the transportation of trucks by ferry.
Measures planned include a subsidy to vessel operating businesses, to subsidize up to 50 percent of the costs for introducing energy-efficient equipment. This includes the attachment of rudder fairings, scrubbing or painting ship bottoms to improve operational efficiency, as well as propeller boss cap fins for greater propulsive efficiency.
Ferry and coastal shipping services are recognized as an environment-friendly mode of transportation, as their carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity (see Note) is approximately one-fourth of that of truck transportation. If all these shipping operations were conducted on land, CO2 emissions would increase by 2.66 million tons per year, an amount equivalent to a 7 % increase in emissions from commercial trucks.
Note: CO2 emission intensity is the average emission rate of CO2 from a given source for a specific activity.
Posted: 2011/06/03 06:00:15 AM
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism official website
http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/