The world needs greener energy. With only 11 years left to implement solutions to prevent irreversible damage from climate change according to the United Nations, it is imperative that every industry acknowledges this threat and swiftly takes necessary measures to ensure that its operations are cleaner and sustainable.

One of the slowest sectors to adopt renewable energy, though, is the shipping industry. The shipping industry is one of the world’s worst polluters; freight truck movement accounts for seven percent of corporate greenhouse gas emissions, and emissions from 15 shipping containers equal those of all the cars in the world. Shipping is one of the few sectors that connect the rest; it’s reach is almost omnipresent in economics and exercises direct influence on others.

Max Tingyao Lin, market’s editor at Loyd’s List says:

“Shipping’s attitude towards renewable energy tends to be reactionary at times, so I wouldn’t exactly call it a leader in this field. But there is hope—there will always be industry participants for and against major environmental regulations, but generally the eco side will win out, even though the process could take years… The main challenge still lies in the bottom line. If shipping firms can find a way to profit from being early adopters of green technology, they will.”

As the United Nations makes clear, though, we do not have nearly as many years as we would like. If the issue industry leaders are concerned about is profit, here are a few ways green energy can economically benefit the shipping sector:

Renewable energy does not need to be imported

One of green energy’s advantages is that it does not need to be sourced or imported from foreign locations. Mining and oil extraction are expensive processes on their own, but transporting fossil fuels—with more fossil fuel, nevertheless—is an unnecessary expense that shipping companies do not need to be making.

Renewable sources, such as wind and sunlight, can be leveraged anywhere. Utilizing green energy techniques would dramatically reduce the US’s dependence on foreign imports, leading to a more energy-independent nation and cheaply sourced power.

Renewable energy is limitless—and cheaper

Another primary benefit of renewable energy is that it is exactly what the name suggests—renewable. Coal and oil are finite resources; even if the earth holds enough to support us beyond this generation’s lifetime, it will run out, and the harvesting and extraction processes will continue to become more challenging as reserves become scarcer (not to mention more expensive).

Renewable energy resources, however, are limitless. The sun will continue to shine and the wind will never stop blowing, and when combined with other methods like geothermal heat, natural resources can supply and even exceed the entire country’s—and the world’s—energy needs.

From a cost standpoint, Forbes notes that the price of generating power from onshore wind has decreased by 23 percent from 2010 to 2018, and the cost of photovoltaic power fell by 73 percent over the same period. The former costs an average of $.06 per kilowatt hour (though some applications are now at $.04), and the latter costs $.10 per KwH. These prices compare to generating electricity via fossil fuels, which varies between $.05 and $.17 per KwH. IRENA—the International Renewable Energy Agency—says that “all renewable energy technologies should be competitive on price with fossil fuels by 2020.”

Green energy will allow the shipping industry to expand

Despite the shipping industry’s expansive reach, there are still parts of the world where people live without electricity, and thus have no access to imported goods or means to export their own.

Business.com reports that in 2011,1.3 billion people around the globe—primarily in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa—had no access to electricity due to a distorted fossil fuel energy market. Renewable energy can reach these areas, providing not only houses and buildings with power, but potentially electric vehicles and other modes of transportation.

Moving in the right direction

While more are necessary, there are thankfully moves in the right direction for the shipping industry. Science Direct reports that while electricity in transportation once seemed far-off, electric vehicles have sen rapid progress in the past few years. Approximately one percent of all car sales in 2016 were EVs, with nearly two million on the road as of April 2019. Passenger vehicles are responsible for about half of the transport sector’s energy usage, so replacing fossil fuel-based models with electric ones, combined with solar or other renewable energy, can drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Once similar technology is available to the trucking industry, ecommerce and other shipping could be significantly expedited.

As for maritime shipping, Marine Insight notes that there are multiple ship concepts in development that will leverage wind energy. A few companies have also announced intentions to switch to lighter marine gas oil, which is not renewable, but a practical step toward ushering in green energy.

The shipping industry needs renewable energy. Making the transition will not just benefit the environment and people’s livelihoods, but the sector’s efficiency and profitability as well.