At a pivotal meeting, the world is set to decide how to cut shipping emissions
The global demand for shipping is expected to grow by around 60 percent in that same time. So even with a 40 percent efficiency boost, total emissions from shipping could stay the same – or even go up – because so much more cargo will be moved.
You’re probably reading this article on a device assembled in Asia, using materials shipped there from all around the world. After it was made, your phone or laptop most likely travelled to your country on a huge ship powered by one of the world’s largest diesel engines, one of thousands plying the world’s oceans. All this maritime activity adds up: international shipping burns over 200 million tonnes of fossil fuels a year.
The sector is trying to clean up its act. Its 2023 global climate strategy set a “strive” ambition of 30 percent cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, relative to 2008 emissions and 80 percent by 2040. That’s close to a level of ambition that can deliver on the Paris climate agreement, but this target urgently needs policies to make it happen. This is also urgent: 2030 is only five years away.
