Controlling Ship Emissions

The shipping industry is not only a major contributor to the air pollution choking many port cities, but also, as explained in a front page article in today's New York Times, one of the fastest growing sources of transport greenhouse gas emissions.Shipping is currently responsible for almost 3 percent of global CO2 emissions and over 2 percent of global black carbon emissions, the second most potent climate pollutant behind CO2. Shipping emissions are predicted to grow by 50% to 250% by 2050 depending on future economic and energy developments. A new study by a European Parliament research committee found that shipping could be responsible for 17% of global CO2 emissions in 2050 if left unregulated. In Paris the European Union, the Danish Shipowners Association and many environmental NGOs are calling for an international climate agreement that includes an ambitious CO2 emission reduction goal for the shipping sector in order to help keep warming below dangerous levels. Others are calling for fast action to regulate black carbon and other short-lived but very harmful climate pollutants. Read more @ Huffington Post