How Is KR 1.7 Tracking?
Our Maritime KR calls for more aggressive emissions cuts from cargo ships, which account for roughly a gigaton of emissions. These huge transport vehicles burn heavy bunker fuel oil and emit large quantities of carbon dioxide and sulfur oxides. More than two thirds of these gases are generated within 250 miles of coastlines, exposing hundreds of millions of people to harmful pollutants.
A number of clean river ships are now in operation. But larger ocean ships, the biggest emitters, have yet to follow suit. Given the typical bulk carrier’s 20-year-plus lifespan and high upfront costs, decarbonizing the maritime sector is a hard problem. The path forward is to prod the industry to build or retrofit ships to be “zero-emissions-ready” by using clean power sources, such as batteries or green hydrogen, methanol, or ammonia.
In the meantime, maritime emissions can be reduced by slowing ships down, installing more efficient engines, and upgrading hulls and propulsion systems.