Reducing carbon emissions

One of last year’s two steps towards our climate change related goals was to “Set science-based climate change targets”.

Strategic Projects Manager Kevin Kearney says thinking in the climate change space progressed significantly in the past year. “As a sector, New Zealand ports have largely moved away from a focus on science-based targets, reflecting the uncertainty around technological and fuel alternatives in the short term. The focus has instead turned towards the more practical approach of science-aligned targets.”

What is the difference? In the context of emissions reduction in New Zealand, science-based and science-aligned targets are essentially the same:

• Science-based targets structure focus on limiting global warming to 1.5°C. 
• Science-aligned targets follow the same principles of science-based targets, but are not officially validated by a third party.

Port Otago’s approach

When it comes to climate change, a near-term target is five to 10 years. Sixty-eight per cent of Port Otago’s emissions relate to fuel and electricity. 

Kevin says that, given the limited fuel alternatives available for marine plant in particular, setting ambitious near-term targets is not realistic. “In the interim, we are reducing marine carbon emissions by using fuel and activity data insights to drive process improvement in maintenance and operational activity.”

Our path to 2050

Within our decarbonisation roadmap, we are targeting net zero emissions by 2050. 

We are using the next five to 10 year period to address key actions on our carbon emissions reduction pathway. The priority is investigating options to run current machinery more fuel efficiently, while we await technology advancements and proven electrical equipment to be commercially viable.

Our targets are to reduce emissions – with 2020 as our base year – by 34% by 2030 and 61% by 2040.

Absolute emissions versus emission intensity 

Like other New Zealand ports, Port Otago is using software company BraveGen for emissions data collection and reporting. We are using the company’s software to better understand and calculate emissions intensity.

In the context of our port business:

• Absolute emissions = the total volume of carbon emissions generated by the company
• Emission intensity = the volume of emissions per unit of activity*.

Kevin says the software is used, for example, to refine management of the marine fleet. “We can drill down and schedule earlier maintenance activity, such as hull cleaning, to improve fuel efficiency.” 

*The unit depends on the type of activity