Gold Standard is seeking stakeholders’ views and feedback on a proposal from the project developer requesting a revision to the applicability criteria of the Gold Standard approved Retrofit Energy Efficiency Measures in Shipping methodology. The revision requested involves the expansion of the current applicability conditions i.e., biocide-free hull coating to hull coatings/paints with below-average levels of biocidal materials to encourage increased adoption rates and greater GHG emission reductions.
The Gold Standard methodology currently restricts the use of biocide in hull coating/paints due to various environmental concerns and the adverse impact of biocide on marine life. However, as of 2022, market penetration of biocide-free coatings still remains well below 5%, despite having been commercially available to shipowners for decades. Gold Standard is of the opinion that amending the biocide restriction may incentivize wider adoption of premium coatings i.e., coatings with a below-average biocide (eg. copper) content thus reducing both GHG emissions. However, at the same time, biocidal antifouling coating paints are, by definition, toxic to marine organisms.
Feedback submission
The stakeholders are requested to provide their feedback and opinion on the proposed revisions and the answers to the following questions:
- Should the methodology applicability be expanded to low-biocidal hull coating options – considering the potential negative environmental impacts?
- Should there be a permissible limit to copper content and what could that be, if copper-based hull coating options are allowed?
- Should methodology introduce further risk mitigation measures to minimise the environmental impacts of low-biocidal hull coatings? For example, Certain safeguards and mitigation measures like best management practices (BMPs) for in-water hull cleaning established by BIMCO (https://www.bimco.org/), a non-governmental organization whose membership includes shipowners, ship brokers, and others active in maritime transportation (BIMCO 2021) could be adopted to make sure that the smallest amount of copper is released?
The public consultation period is open for 30 days: from Thursday 15 June until Friday 15 July.
We welcome feedback from stakeholders during this consultation period, a critical part of our process to ensure that the development process is transparent, informed, and conservative.
Responses should be sent to Bhumika Thakur or via the online form below.