PhD Position: BC Green Shipping Corridor Assessment
Heavy freight transport, by way of deep-sea shipping, accounts for 80% of global trade and is responsible for approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (United Nations, 2018), which is why the implementation of Green Shipping Corridors – maritime based routes between two or more ports that support zero-emissions technologies – is key to helping accelerate the decarbonization of the global shipping sector by 2050. Currently, 24 countries, including Canada, have signed on to the Clydebank Declaration, a commitment to establish Green Shipping Corridors, made at COP26. Signatories are committed to establishing a minimum of 6 green corridors by 2025, with intent to scale up activity in subsequent years by increasing trade on specific Green Corridor routes, extending route length, or establishing more routes (United Nations, 2021). As this is a new concept, at the present time, there are no fully developed and established Green Shipping Corridors, and research in this area has not yet occurred.
1 PhD position is available in a research project led by Drs. Crawford and Dong within IESVic and working in close collaboration with the Vancouver Maritime Centre for Climate (VMCC). The aim of this research to explore three key areas necessary for the establishment of a successful Green Shipping Corridor, in the specific context of British Columbia, including assessment and quantification of the required and anticipated zero and low carbon emission energy sources, existing and potential market demand of zero and low carbon emission fuels from ocean-going and land-based marine and shipping transport operations in BC; and recommendations to establish an enabling policy and regulation environment to accelerate the uptake and use of zero and low carbon emission fuels by the maritime and shipping transport industry. This information will lay the groundwork for accelerating maritime decarbonisation here in our province, which will improve air quality and increase investment in BC’s low carbon energy systems.
The student will drive these activities within VMCC and be responsible for working with various industry and government partners. The project timeline is aggressive and will require both excellent technical analysis skills as well as managerial and communications skills in working directly with VMCC and other project partners.
Requirements
- MSc/MASc degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., Marine/Mechanical/Chemical/Electrical Engineering)
- Experience with alternative fuels, marine transportation
- Ideally, knowledge of Python and LaTex tools for model development and figure generation
- Strong writing, conversational and presentation abilities in English
- Ability to organize and work effectively in a diverse team and with commercial and international project partners
Timeline
Position to start ASAP, ideally Summer 2023; applications accepted on a rolling basis.
How to apply
Interested candidates should email Dr. Crawford at curranc@uvic.ca with the subject “Green Shipping Position”; attach:
- A detailed curriculum vitae
- A one-page cover letter describing your relevant (research) experience and motivation for the position
- Names and contact details for two references