Climate Adaptation
Top Sea Polluters Beg for Climate Rules That No Rival Can Avoid
- Carriers seek global emissions rules to even field, UN says
- Decarbonizing shipping may require $1.9 trillion by 2050
The World Shipping Council members operate 90% of global container-carrying capacity.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
The ocean shipping industry, among the world’s biggest polluters, is asking a key regulator to overhaul its emissions directives so that all carriers are working off the same rulebook as they make the expensive changes needed to cut output of harmful carbons.
With roughly 90% of global trade transported by sea, the industry emits more carbon annually as Germany and the Netherlands combined. And if shipping were a country, it would be the world’s sixth-biggest greenhouse-gas emitter, according to the World Economic Forum.