Ahead of the 2015 Travel Trade Fair in Berlin: AIDA Cruises and atmosfair present climate protection program for cruises
Rostock/Berlin,
02/27/2015: On the occasion of the ITB Berlin, AIDA Cruises and atmosfair are
presenting a program that sets standards for climate protection in the still
dynamically growing cruise industry. The program features direct reduction of
CO2 ship emissions along with voluntary CO2 compensation
for the cruises.
Monika Griefahn, Chief
Sustainability Officer at AIDA Cruises, says, “Climate protection is a central
aspect of AIDA’s sustainability strategy. With the new program, we continue our
course as pioneer in the industry. In addition to a perfect cruise experience,
our customers rightly expect this commitment of us.”
Mojib Latif, climate
scientist and patron of atmosfair, is equally pleased about the new program:
“The cruise industry has many options for actively promoting climate protection
by reducing CO2 emissions. Innovations in fuels and propulsion
systems offer enormous potential here. I am glad that AIDA has taken up
recommendations made by atmosfair and that it is also willing to try out new
approaches and technologies.”
Starting now, all AIDA
guests can voluntarily book the CO2 compensation of their cruises at
www.aida.de under MyAIDA. At the end of the
“climate-conscious cruise,” each guest receives a personalized climate
protection certificate and a donation receipt from atmosfair. Through atmosfair
climate protection projects, AIDA is now also compensating CO2
emissions from business travel by plane or rental car.
The climate protection
partners aim to have 20% of guests voluntarily contribute to climate protection
through CO2 compensation of their cruises by 2020. The proceeds will
go to a biomass power plant in northern India, which produces green electricity
from harvest residues for 40,000 households, saves 30,000 tons of CO2
annually, and contributes to the region’s development by offering new
employment opportunities and income sources for farmers.
Back in the summer of
2013, AIDA Cruises launched an additional investment program for utilizing
state-of-the-art environmental technologies. The program features a multi-stage
filter system for reducing emissions. Not only AIDA’s new ships to be put into
service in 2015 and 2016 are receiving this technology. First ships in the
existing fleet have also been fitted with this filter system; the rest will be
gradually retrofitted.
The two new AIDA ships
are also the first cruise ships in the world to be fitted with dual-fuel
engines. In addition to traditional ship fuels, these allow the use of liquefied
natural gas, which emits 20% less CO2.
As part of the joint
pilot project and for the supply of its cruise ships in the future, AIDA
Cruises is testing the possibility of utilizing LNG that has been produced
fully CO2-free through the power to gas method, and wind or solar
power. Currently, the use of LNG is limited to ship docking times for
regulatory reasons. If successful, this could be the beginning of CO2-free
cruises.
Dietrich Brockhagen,
Managing Director of atmosfair says, “What’s special about this joint climate
protection program is the exemplary balance of the measures. The focus lies on
technical innovations for the AIDA ships; the CO2 compensation is
added to this. AIDA is setting standards here.”
AIDA Cruises publishes
detailed information on its environmental projects in its annual sustainability
report, AIDA cares (www.aida.de/aidacares).
Contacts:
AIDA Cruises:
Hansjörg Kunze, Vice
President Communication & Sustainability
E-mail: presse@aida.de, Tel.: +49 (0)381-444-8020
atmosfair gGmbH:
Prof. Dr. Mojib Latif,
Climate scientist at the Helmholtz Center for
Ocean Research in Kiel
and atmosfair patron
Email: mlatif@geomar.de
Dr. Dietrich
Brockhagen, Managing Director atmosfair
Email: brockhagen@atmosfair.de, Tel.: 0174/7293321
