As Demand for Fast Deliveries Surges, Companies Struggle With the EV Transition
Costly electric trucks and charging complications are hampering progress.
Amazon.com Inc. initially vowed to make half of all deliveries with zero carbon pollution by 2030.
Photographer: Bing Guan/BloombergThe appetite for speedy package delivery is skyrocketing around the planet. Americans do more than 15% of their shopping online, with digital purchases of groceries, shoes, pet food and other goods quadrupling over the past decade to $1 trillion a year. Global e-commerce is expected to grow at more than twice the rate as offline purchases, and, by decade’s end, 25,000 packages will be shipped every second, according to an analysis by environmental group Stand.earth.
All of this comes with a hefty climate footprint. FedEx Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and DHL Group, three of the world’s larger delivery companies, combined to emit 92 million tons of heat-trapping gases in 2022 — more than the entire climate footprint of Greece. The industry’s emissions will likely grow as demand for last-mile delivery is expected to climb 78% by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum.