Abstract:

This report presented an updated global inventory of black carbon emissions from the global shipping sector. To produce this inventory, we developed new black carbon emission factors based on the latest emissions testings research. We combined these emission factors with state-of-the-science terrestrial and satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship positioning data from exact Earth and ship characteristics data from IHS Fairplay. The author also analyzed the potential effectiveness of several black carbon control measures, including switching to cleaner-burning fuels and using diesel particulate filters (DPFs). It found that ships emitted an estimated 67 thousand tonnes of black carbon in 2015, representing more than 20% of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from ships on a 20-year timescale, making black carbon an important contributor to the sector’s climate warming impacts. Container ships emitted the most black carbon, accounting for 26% of emissions. However, cruise ships accounted for a disproportionately large amount of black carbon and emitted an average of 10 tonnes of black carbon per ship in 2015, almost three times as much as the average container ship.