Shipping Lines Cut CO2 Emissions
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
August 27, 2015
The container carriers have managed to reduce their combined CO2 emissions by around one third since 2009, according to a new report.
Average CO2 emissions per container per kilometer for global ocean transportation routes have declined by 8.4 percent from 2013 to 2014 and by more than 29 percent since 2009, according to BSR’s Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) annual report for 2015.
The report attributed a portion of these results to the changes in carrier representation or global trade conditions.
In addition, the continued performance improvement was also attributed to carrier fleet efficiency and data quality, both of which have direct benefits for shipping customers.
CCWG is comprised of 45 members representing 80 percent of ocean container cargo carriers and many customers.
The group provides standardized methodologies to measure key environmental performance indicators and easy-to-use tools to reduce environmental impacts. In the past two years, CCWG has engaged with priority industry groups, published a report on its methodology, facilitated sharing of best practices among members, and moved to an online reporting system.
The 2015 data collection shows an 8.4 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) per kilometer from the previous year, and more than 29 percent since 2009.
The lowest CO2 emissions in 2014 with respect to trade lines were recorded in Asia to North Europe trade route with 37.9 grams of CO2 emitted per TEU kilometer for non-refrigerated cargo and 69.6 for reefers on 2,989 vessels, down from 47.1 grams and 75.9 grams of CO2 reported in 2012 respectively.
The highest CO2 emissions were found in Intra-Europe 84 grams of CO2 per TEU kilometer for dries and 130.1 grams of CO2 for reefers and Intra-Americas (Caribbean) with 80.9 grams of CO2 for dries and 123.8 grams for reefers, the report shows.
