Shipping-related greenhouse gas emissions rose by 4.9% in 2021 and were higher than in 2020 and 2019, according to Simpson Spence & Young’s annual industry report. Shipping emissions came in at 833 million metric tons of carbon in 2021, compared with 794 million metric tons in 2020 and 800 million metric tons in 2019. This .
The shipping giant has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2040 instead of 2050, and its commitment now covers the carbon emissions generated by the energy it uses and its supply chains.
Major shipping corporation Maersk has announced plans to achieve net zero climate emissions in its business by 2040, a decade earlier than the company’s initial climate commitment made just four years ago. As part of this plan, Maersk has announced a commitment to a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per transported container by 2030, .
As a congestion crisis continues to stall polluting container ships in ports around the world, there is a growing awareness of the role that international shipping plays in both the climate crisis and the public-health impacts of air pollution.