{"id":33638,"date":"2023-04-24T14:57:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T14:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=33638"},"modified":"2023-04-26T07:45:22","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T07:45:22","slug":"global-shipping-is-under-pressure-to-stop-its-heavy-fuel-oil-use-fast-thats-not-simple-but-changes-are-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/global-shipping-is-under-pressure-to-stop-its-heavy-fuel-oil-use-fast-thats-not-simple-but-changes-are-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"Global shipping is under pressure to stop its heavy fuel oil use fast \u2013 that\u2019s not simple, but changes are\u00a0coming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don Maier<\/a>, University of Tennessee<\/a><\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Most of the clothing and gadgets you buy in stores today were once in shipping containers, sailing across the ocean. Ships carry over 80% of the world\u2019s traded goods<\/a>. But they have a problem \u2013 the majority of them burn heavy sulfur fuel oil, which is a driver of climate change<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While cargo ships\u2019 engines have become more efficient<\/a> over time, the industry is under growing pressure to eliminate its carbon footprint.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Union Parliament this year voted to require an 80% drop in shipping fuels\u2019 greenhouse gas intensity by 2050<\/a> and to require shipping lines to pay<\/a> for the greenhouse gases their ships release. The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency that regulates international shipping, also plans to strengthen its climate strategy<\/a> this summer. The IMO\u2019s current goal is to cut shipping emissions 50% by 2050. President Joe Biden said on April 20, 2023, that the U.S. would push for a new international goal of zero emissions<\/a> by 2050 instead.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked maritime industry researcher Don Maier<\/a> if the industry can meet those tougher targets.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is it so hard for shipping to transition away from fossil fuels?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Economics and the lifespan of ships<\/a> are two primary reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the big shippers\u2019 fleets are less than 20 years old, but even the newer builds don\u2019t necessarily have the most advanced technology. It takes roughly a year and a half to come out with a new build of a ship, and it will still be based on technology from a few years ago. So, most of the engines still run on fossil fuel oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If companies do buy ships that run on alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, methanol and ammonia, they run into another challenge: There are only a few ports<\/a> so far with the infrastructure to provide those fuels. Without a way to refuel at all the ports that a ship might use, companies will lose their return on investment, so they will keep using the same technology<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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