The shipping industry is the backbone, the primary support system, of the world’s global economy. People depend on it to move goods from one location to another, which is essential for survival itself besides business prosperity. Shipping, however, is responsible for an enormous percentage of the planet’s pollution: 90 percent of everything people buy travels by ship, and freight trucks contribute 7 percent of all corporate greenhouse gas emissions.

As global warming becomes an increasingly urgent threat, it’s imperative to cut back on fossil fuel usage. This is a daunting task when one looks at how dependent the shipping industry is on oil and gas and how ingrained the industry is in global daily operations. Clean energy technology exists, though; it’s more than ready to be implemented, but financial obstructions and people’s unwillingness to let go of fossil fuels hinder it. So, with the pervasiveness of nonrenewable resources and all the obstacles green energy has to overcome, will the shipping industry ever really go carbon free?

Agreements and accountability

If the supply industry continues on its current path, the International Maritime Organization predicts that emissions from shipping will skyrocket by as much as 250 percent by the year 2050. This increase over the ocean could effectively negate progress to reduce carbon emissions on land.

Numerous governments, scientists, and industry professionals are beginning to recognize the problem, fortunately. According to Wired.com:

“The International Maritime Organization agreed to reduce emissions from global shipping by at least 50 percent from 2008 levels b 2050. The United Nations body also pledged to pursue deeper cuts to meet the Paris Agreement’s more ambitious goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above pre-industrial levels.

“The hard-won plan follows tense negotiations involving envoys from 173 countries at the organization’s headquarters on the banks of the Thames River in London. The Marshall Islands and other Pacific nations doggedly pushed the most ambitious proposal on the table: a 100-percent reduction in shipping emissions within two decades, a move that would bring the sector in line with the 1.5 degree-target.”

The European Union also composed a plan to cut emissions by 70 to 100 percent by the middle of the current century. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the United States were resistant to emissions caps (they are two of the world’s biggest oil-producers), but clean energy does have evangelists that are a fiercely advocating for curbed fossil fuel usage. With internationally-set deadlines in mind, and countries that can hold one another accountable, minimizing the shipping industry’s carbon contributions may be feasible.

How can it be done?

Electric cars aren’t mainstream, but most people are aware that they exist. Can ships, on the other hand, be made in such a way that they don’t require fossil fuels to function? It is indeed, though it will take time for them to be built. Grist.org notes:

“The most prominent options for powering a ship without fossil fuels include hydrogen, batteries, sustainably produced biofuels, and wind-assisted technologies that can reduce fuel use. All of these are being used or tested in small-scale vessels — primarily passenger ferries or supply boats that keep close to shore.”

Once the technologies are satisfactorily tested, they can be implemented into larger freight ships. Companies like Innogy are working on creating electric vehicles that do not produce greenhouse gas emissions (and they are heavily involved with photovoltaic technology, too, which will help ensure that even charging stations don’t require nonrenewable resources to generate electricity).

Grist also mentions that 75 percent of shipping companies agree that making zero-emission fleets a reality requires charging fees for carbon emissions. There’s no incentive like money, so making the environmental costs of fossil fuels have monetary consequences will significantly help motivate shippers to adhere to reduction deadlines.

How Fr8 Network can help

We are starting with terrestrial shipping, but those of us at Fr8 Network are eager to integrate our blockchain-based technology into oceanic and air freight. If capturing even half of unused trucking capacity can reduce on-land carbon emissions by 100 million tons per year, imagine how much carbon we could eliminate by allowing ships and planes to schedule routes with all relevant data easily accessible. The Fr8 Board could also enable smoother interaction between ships and trucks — a product’s journey does not end at the port, so our platform can ease the transition from sea to land.

Once green energy ships have entered the market — which will hopefully be by 2030 — emissionless vessels and blockchain-enabled scheduling tools will dramatically improve the shipping industry’s efficiency and ensure that it eventually becomes 100 percent carbon-free.