Thesis Defense - The Dutch Shipping Industry’s Perceptions on Climate Change Mitigation Legislation
04.09.2023 at 09:00-10:30
Defenses
In the coming weeks, UW master's students will defend their theses. The subjects are varied and the students are from both master's programs, Coastal Marine Management and Coastal Communities and Regional Development. The defenses are accessible to everyone through zoom links but they are also open to the public, at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Ísafjörður.
Student: Stephany Van den Bosch
Thesis title: The Dutch Shipping Industry’s Perceptions on Climate Change Mitigation Legislation Applied to the Industry: An Overview of the Challenges and Opportunities the Industry Experiences with Climate Change Mitigation Efforts
Program: Coastal and Marine Management
This thesis examines the progress of the climate change mitigation process within the Dutch shipping industry by identifying the challenges, opportunities and changes that the industry faces because of current and future climate change mitigation regulations applied to the industry. Eight in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out with companies in the Dutch shipping industry to gain insight into how they perceive and understand their current situation. The industry finds itself in the early stages of the mitigation process and on the brink of a series of big changes, especially regarding the upcoming IMO and EU targets of respectively 50% reduction and zero-emission for the shipping industry by 2050. However, the industry must overcome numerous challenges to meet these targets, of which the main challenges can be identified as: 1) the legislative and regulatory systems, and 2) the process of technological development. The results of this thesis show that the challenges faced by the Dutch shipping industry largely stem from uncertainty: companies are unsure about what regulations mean and how they will change, and they are uncertain about the availability and possibility of new propulsion technologies. Additionally, there are unanswered questions within the industry surrounding the meaning of sustainability regarding, for example, but not limited to shipbuilding, ship recycling, tank-to-wake versus well-to-wake and ship operations. To effectively continue with the climate change mitigation process in the Dutch shipping industry, and to be able to meet the international and European reduction targets, there is therefore an urgent need to address these uncertainties and to create awareness of the industry’s position in the mitigation process among all key players in the industry.