Carbon bomb out at sea

THE next carbon bomb to hit our climate might come from out at sea. Mostly out of sight, the giant ships which transport 80 per cent of world trade burn the dirtiest, sludgiest type of oil, and emit enormous plumes of climateheating greenhouse gases.

If you rank the world’s countries by their annual emissions, the shipping industry emits more carbon than all but the top five. The Paris Agreement goals cannot be met unless we tackle shipping, one of the world’s top polluters. The industry is poised to determine its direction on climate in early November at the IMO.

Time is short. We are warned that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by almost half in the next decade to prevent increasingly dangerous outcomes. Shipping must reduce emissions in this next crucial decade while plotting a revolutionary course towards zero carbon technologies and fuels.

Fortunately, this goal to realise commercially viable deep sea zero emission vessels by 2030 is increasingly embraced by industry leaders, including those in the recently launched Getting to Zero Coalition.

But — we can’t sit by and do nothing for 10 years waiting to find out if they can hit that 2030 target.

Luckily, there is a short-term option — speed limits.

Just like a car, ships burn ever more fuel per mile the faster they go. In 2008, when oil and freight rates spiked, ships were zooming around the planet faster than ever. The sector emitted a record 1.14 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.