An Energy Consumption Approach to Estimate Air Emission Reductions in Container Shipping

Ernest Czermański, Giuseppe T. Cirella, Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek, Barbara Pawłowska and Theo Notteboom
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Ernest Czermański: Department of Maritime Transport and Seaborne Trade, Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland
Aneta Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek: Department of Maritime Transport and Seaborne Trade, Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland
Barbara Pawłowska: Department of Transport Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Gdansk, 81-824 Sopot, Poland
Theo Notteboom: Center for Eurasian Maritime and Inland Logistics, China Institute of FTZ Supply Chain, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Container shipping is the largest producer of emissions within the maritime shipping industry. Hence, measures have been designed and implemented to reduce ship emission levels. IMO’s MARPOL Annex VI, with its future plan of applying Tier III requirements, the Energy Efficiency Design Index for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan for all ships. To assist policy formulation and follow-up, this study applies an energy consumption approach to estimate container ship emissions. The volumes of sulphur oxide (SO x ), nitrous oxide (NO x ), particulate matter (PM), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emitted from container ships are estimated using 2018 datasets on container shipping and average vessel speed records generated via AIS. Furthermore, the estimated reductions in SO x , NO x , PM, and CO 2 are mapped for 2020. The empirical analysis demonstrates that the energy consumption approach is a valuable method to estimate ongoing emission reductions on a continuous basis and to fill data gaps where needed, as the latest worldwide container shipping emissions records date back to 2015. The presented analysis supports early-stage detection of environmental impacts in container shipping and helps to determine in which areas the greatest potential for emission reductions can be found.

Keywords: container shipping; emissions; maritime transport; sustainable shipping; green shipping; IMO (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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