Carbon Emissions FAQ
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Q: Why is the shipping industry so important environmentally?
A: It is the most carbon-efficient mode of transportation. As illustrated by the graph below, ocean shipping is by far the most carbon-efficient mode of transportation. Because of its inherent advantages, including much greater payloads per trip than ground or air, the industry emits far less carbon dioxide (CO2) per ton/mile of cargo than any other transportation mode.
Source: Data provided by Network for Transport and the Environment
According to the figures in this graph, transporting the 2008 volume of 1.3 billion metric tons of cargo via containership generated approximately 13 billion grams of CO2 per kilometer. If that same volume had been transported by airfreight instead, carbon dioxide emissions would have increased by 4,700% to some 611 billion grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Source: Data provided by Network for Transport and the Environment
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