Shipping emits more carbon than predicted
New figures show that carbon emissions from global shipping are higher than those from the aviation sector.
CO2 emissions from global shipping are more than double industry estimates, according to a report funded by some member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The report states that annual CO2 emissions from shipping reached 1.12 billion metric tons (t) in 2007, 4.5% of total global carbon emissions. By comparison, the aviation industry, which has come under heavy pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, is responsible for about 2% of global emissions.
The report predicts that CO2 emissions from global shipping will rise by 30% to 1.475 billion t by 2020 if no action is taken. Previous industry estimates, based on the quantity of low-grade fuel bought by shipowners, have put CO2 emissions from shipping at less than 2% of the global total. The new IMO report estimated its figures from the known engine sizes of the world's ships, the time they spend at sea, and the amount of low-grade fuel sold to shipowners.
The Kyoto Protocol does not cover emissions from shipping or international flights because of the complexity of attributing emissions to individual countries. Until recently, both aviation and shipping also remained outside the EU's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). However, EU ministers have agreed that, beginning in 2011, all flights entering and leaving the EU will be included in ETS. Shipping emissions will still remain outside the EU's program.
So why has aviation received more scrutiny over its emissions than the shipping sector? Antony Froggatt, an environmental consultant with Chatham House in London, says it is because aviation is the fastest-growing transport sector under a business-as-usual scenario. "Although it is growing, the shipping sector does not have the same predicted rate of growth as aviation."
The shipping industry is already taking measures to reduce emissions, stresses an IMO spokesperson. The aim of the report, she says, was "to inform a process already well under way to amend the current regulations governing emissions from ships." Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) is considering taking action at the EU level, because international progress on this issue is "slow," according to an EC spokesperson.
