Day: October 1, 2021

The cargo shipping industry is booming, carrying around 90 percent of global trade and emitting as much air pollution as the entire continent of South America. 

• Cargo ship pollution is on the rise, and expected to continue growing amid rising global trade.
• Pollution from the sector — including particles that affect every organ and cell in the human body — could increase as much as 130 percent by 2050, raising the industry’s 3 percent share of global climate pollution to 17 percent. 
• Cargo ships produce as much climate pollution as all of America’s coal plants combined.

The sector is under growing pressure to get cleaner, but operates in a perfect storm of ineffectual international legislation and toothless enforcement.

• Maritime shipping is largely regulated by a U.N. agency, the International Maritime Organization, that is dominated by industry associations and countries with a strong interest in shipping.
• The International Maritime Organization has set a target to reduce cargo ship climate pollution by at least 50 percent by 2050, but has failed to adopt effective short-term measures that would begin shrinking pollution impacts from cargo ships. 
• Pressure is building on cargo ship owners and major goods companies to invest in cleaner cargo ships and support is growing to strengthen the International Maritime Organization 2050 goal to zero emissions. 11 Asian countries recently added their support to the Pacific Islands proposal of zero emissions by 2050, as well as a $100 carbon price on shipping to fund this transition, and raise around $50 billion a year in climate finance to strengthen climate vulnerable countries’ response to climate change. In addition to the EU 27 member states, US, UK, and Norway,  around 45 countries now support a goal of zero global shipping emissions by 2050.
• The European Union, the world’s largest trading block, plans to include international shipping both into and out of its ports within its Emissions Trading Scheme within the next few years. US lawmakers are also studying whether to launch a similar “Monitoring, Reporting and Verification” system for shipping emissions, the building block of an emissions trading scheme.

Existing and emerging technologies are making zero emissions shipping possible, and cutting another lifeline for the oil and gas industry. 

• Simply cutting ship speeds by just 20 percent can reduce emissions and avoid harming whales and other marine wildlife.
• Wind power is making a comeback, with shipbuilders beginning to retrofit ships with sails and newer wind technologies.
• A variety of fuels made from ammonia, hydrogen, and biofuels are beginning to replace the heavy fuel oil used in ocean-going ships, and all-electric ships are already running ferry routes and working around docks.
• Investment in fossil fueled maritime shipping could be stranded if the clean energy economy accelerates worldwide.