Panama Canal launches Emissions Calculator tool

The Panama Canal Authority has announced the inauguration of the Emissions Calculator, a tool which will help operators assess their carbon emissions, rank those who have reduced emissions crossing the Canal instead of other routes and encourage the decarbonization of vessels.

The Emissions Calculator will use the existing technology on board ships to retrieve data and therefore control better the greenhouse gases (GHG).

The data collected will be sent to the CO2 Emissions Reduction Ranking, a platform that ranks those who had the least emissions each month, according to Alexis Rodriguez, Panama Canal Environmental Specialist.

With this announcement, the Panama Canal attempts to show its commitment to reduce GHG and supports actively IMO’s upcoming of the global efforts at this week’s meeting, which will try to establish a new IMO Strategy to reduce GHG, sources say.

The calculator will reduce Panama Canal’s reduce carbon emissions as well. The Emissions Calculator will track the Canal’s everyday emissions and support the creation of a strategy to minimize carbon emissions, thus helping Panama Canal to become a “Carbon Neutral.”

According to the Panama Canal Authority, the Calculator will be a part of the Canal’s existing Green Connection Environmental Recognition Program. It is a program that tries to recognize the operators that are using a more green approach and thus attempting to encourage other to do the same in order to reduce emissions.