Shipping

Shipping is a neglected source of carbon dioxide emissions. Around 5% of the world's CO2 emissions come from marine transport, whereas aviation accounts for (a rapidly increasing) 2%. 90% of the world's goods are carried by sea, and world trade is increasing all the time. 800 million tonnes of CO2 are emitted by the world's shipping each year. It is forecast that there will be a 75% increase in the amount of fuel used by ships in the next 15-20 years. Dr. Veronika Eyring, a researcher at the Institute of Physics and Atmosphere calculates that the global fleet used 280 million tonnes of fuel in 2001, and that could reach 400 million tonnes by 2020.

Carbon dioxide emissions are not covered by any proposed European legislation or the Kyoto agreement. Due to the growth in world trade there are plans for a major expansion of the world's shipping fleet: there are about 20,000 ships currently on order, and ships are getting bigger.

The independent Tyndall Centre for Climate Change has launched a 2-year study into shipping says that the problem needs to be addressed urgently:

"The proportion of (greenhouse gas) emissions from international shipping continues to receive scant regard within government. Shipping has been missed off the climate change agenda, comments researcher Alice Bowes.

The shipping industry claims that ships are more efficient at transferring freight than air, but admits that improvements can be made.