container ships

Reducing Emissions From Shipping And Aviation | Earth Wise

November 19, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The global marine shipping and aviation industries are each responsible for about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions. These are relatively small numbers, but as other industries decarbonize, the contributions from shipping and aviation will loom larger and larger.

In October, both of these industries made commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2050. How can they do it? We don’t really have the details of the technologies to be used, and neither do these industries. But there are ideas being considered.

For both ships and planes, the solution for short-distance trips can be electrification. Electric planes are in the works for short distances. Battery-powered container ships are also under development. But the electrification of longer international and intercontinental routes for both industries is very difficult. The size and weight of batteries needed for long hauls are major challenges to overcome.

The low-carbon solution slowly being deployed in aviation is sustainable aviation fuel made from renewable sources. Longer term, green hydrogen fuel for planes may be a solution. For shipping, hydrogen may play an even larger role. As in the other potential uses for hydrogen, the essential requirement is to be able to produce hydrogen in a way that does not emit greenhouse gases.

There are multiple ways to move towards the decarbonization of both aviation and shipping. Which will turn out to be the most practical and successful is not yet known. What is essential is for both industries to follow through on their commitments to research, develop, and deploy zero-carbon solutions. They appear to have embraced the vision for the future. Now comes the hard work of achieving that vision.

**********

Web Links

Shipping & Aviation Plan To Go Net Zero. How?

Photo, posted August 8, 2014, courtesy of Tomas Del Coro via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving Costs And Reducing Emissions From Shipping | Earth Wise

March 2, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

International shipping is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Maritime transport produces about a billion tons of CO2 annually, accounting for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental impact of shipping includes air pollution, water pollution, and even acoustic pollution. In many coastal areas, ships are responsible for more than 18% of some air pollutants. Overall, there are more than 100,000 transport ships at sea, of which about 6,000 are large container ships.

In recent years, the shipping sector has had both internal willingness and external pressure to reduce emissions, but shipping is a tough, competitive business and it isn’t easy to stay competitive and help protect the environment.

A recent study at Abo Akademi University in Finland has found that improved ship utilization rates and investments in environmentally sustainable technologies for enhanced energy efficiency would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Of equal importance, those same measures would contribute to lowering of freight costs.

If the same cargo volume can be shipped using less fuel, shipping companies will gain major savings in terms of fuel costs. Digitalization can provide valuable benefits. For example, new digital planning and booking systems would enable smarter use of routes while also diminishing traffic with half-empty vessels or even ones with no cargo aboard. Reducing such underutilization would improve the capacity utilization rate and eliminate emissions caused by so-called ballast traffic.

Global shipping continues to grow. It is essential that it becomes smarter and more efficient to protect the environment and improve its economics.

**********

Web Links

Environmentally friendly shipping helps to reduce freight costs

Photo, posted February 18, 2016, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Electrifying Shipping Fleets

March 26, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Container ships, tankers, freighters, and cruise ships are a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants. They currently account for 3% of global emissions – which doesn’t sound like much – but most other sectors such as power plants and automobiles are gradually decarbonizing. As a result, experts believe that shipping could account for as much as 17% of global emissions by the year 2050.

Reducing Emissions From Ships And Planes

June 28, 2016 By WAMC WEB

The global efforts to reduce carbon emissions are marked by a conspicuous omission: the aviation and shipping industries. These two industries contribute 6% of all man-made CO2 emissions, but have so far managed to avoid international control. And not only are they major sources of carbon emissions, their contributions are growing three times faster than overall global CO2 emissions.