In issue 723 of the Sea-Intelligence Sunday Spotlight, we analyse the dramatic reversal in years of progress in reducing the container shipping industry's carbon footprint.
The ongoing crisis in the Red Sea and the re-routing of vessels south of Africa, has led to a staggering 45% increase in CO2 emissions from container shipping in the European Union in 2024, according to mandatory EU emissions data under the EU Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) regulations.
While the overall shipping sector saw a 10% rise in CO2 emissions, the impact on container shipping has been disproportionately severe.
Figure 1 illustrates the stark contrast between the consistent decline in CO2 emissions from 2018 to 2023 and the unprecedented spike in 2024. From 2018-2023, the container vessels had consistently been reducing their emissions, despite growth in container volumes, with emissions, on average, declining by -4.4% at an annual average. (....)