Clarksons Research is predicting that shipping’s total C02 emissions will drop by 1.1% this year to 818m tons and that the global fleet’s carbon footprint has been cut by 19.2% over the last 10 years.
The 1.1% reduction comes as the world fleet continues to grow – Clarkson data showing the merchant fleet grew 3.4% in gt terms in the first 10 months, reaching 97,838 vessels of 1.4bn gt at the end of October this year, up by more than 500m gt over the past 10 years.
The data, carried in the latest World Fleet Monitor publication issued yesterday, shows shipping’s share of global CO2 emissions now stands at 2.2%.
Shipping has set itself targets to halve its CO2 output from 2008 levels by 2050.
One swallow does not a summer make. Maintaining no more than 1.5 degrees global warming requires long term consistent commitment to radical decarbonisation of all sectors and shipping still fails to move with the urgency and unity this global crisis requires. One prediction of a 1% reduction in an unstable a market as international shipping enjoys today is not worth putting the Bollingers on the fast melting ice for yet, not when king tides caused 200 people to be evacuated from their homes in Majuro last night.
I do wonder what the prognosis from the Aviation industry is, in this regard.