National Centre Of Excellence for Green Port & Shipping

• At "INMARCO 2022" in Mumbai, India's first National Centre of Excellence for Green Port & Shipping (NCoEGPS) recently made its debut.
• The Institute of Marine Engineers hosts the INMARCO, an international maritime conference and exhibition, every four years.

About NCoEGPS.

• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MOPSW) has launched a significant drive to offer more environmentally friendly alternatives.
• The MoPSW's Sagarmala initiative will serve as the framework for the NCoEGPS' operations.
• The project's knowledge and execution partner is the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Aim:

• The centre wants to promote carbon neutrality and the circular economy (CE) in India's maritime industry by creating a legislative framework and road map for adopting alternative technologies.
• Green shipping is the practise of using fewer resources and energy to carry people and commodities by ship, with a focus on preventing the release of Green House Gases (GHGs) and other environmental pollutants that might otherwise harm the environment.
• India wants to expand the current contribution of renewable energy—less than 10%—to 60% of the total electricity required by each of its main ports.
• This will be done using energy produced by the sun and the wind.
• By creating cutting-edge technology and application goods, the goals of this project are to support "Make in India" in the fields of engineering, port, and coastal and inland water transportation.
• To encourage rapid innovation in order to offer the best answers to the many problems these sectors face.
• To develop a pool of qualified workers for the sector who possess cutting-edge knowledge in both theories and practise.
• Scientific research and technology development's technical arm's self-sufficiency in finding and analysing complicated problems and resolving them.

Significance:

• It is a significant step toward the Mission Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) movement's goal of making ports and shipping more environmentally friendly.
• The Center will work with all ports, shipping companies, and marine states to comprehend their issues and provide fixes using tried-and-true upstream scientific methods.
• Related Initiatives: By 2030, the ports want to cut carbon emissions from cargo handling by 30%.
• The Maritime Vision Document 2030 is a ten-year plan outlining India's vision for a thriving blue economy and a sustainable maritime sector.
• India has been chosen as the first nation to carry out a pilot project for green shipping as part of the IMO's Green Voyage 2050 project.

The Green Voyage 2050 Project: What Is It?

• The Norwegian government and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) partnered on the Green Voyage 2050 Project, which was unveiled in May 2019 and aims to shift the shipping sector toward a future with lower carbon emissions.
• Through its support of the Initial IMO Green House Gas (GHG) Strategy, the worldwide alliance helps poor nations, such as Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), fulfil their commitment to pertinent climate change and energy efficiency goals.
• To encourage international efforts to showcase and evaluate technological solutions is one of GreenVoyage 2050's key objectives.