Development of Global Seabound Mobility

Volume
Part F3771
Start Page
89
End Page
122
Citation
In: Powerfuels : Status and Prospects / edited by Nils Bullerdiek, Ulf Neuling, Martin Kaltschmitt. - 1st ed. 2025. - Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland ; Cham : Imprint: Springer, 2025
Publisher DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-62411-7_5
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85212301048
Publisher
Springer
ISSN
18653529
ISBN
978-3-031-62411-7
The importance of maritime shipping for world trade is paramount. The globalization of supply chains is only made possible to its current extent by shipping and can therefore be considered one of the most important transport systems in the world. In the future, the transport of goods is forecast to triple by 2050 compared to 2015. At the same time, due to its size, global maritime shipping today accounts for approx. 3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the adoption of the “Strategy to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships,” the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set a milestone in that its stated goal is to reduce GHG emissions from shipping to net zero emissions from 2008 levels by 2050. In addition to the efforts of the IMO, other political entities such as the European Union (EU) and interest groups from the shipping industry have taken measures that significantly underpin the declared goals. To achieve this, the transition of using conventional fuels consisting of heavy fuel oils (HFO) to climate-neutral and sustainable fuels must be undertaken. In this article, alternative fuels are considered and assessed in terms of their potential and availability to contribute to GHG reduction in the maritime sector. The article concludes with an analysis of the current state of renewable and low carbon fossil fuels in shipping and gives a forecast of how their distribution and development may look in the future.
Subjects
Climate neutrality | Decarbonization of shipping | Maritime freight transportation | Renewable fuels
DDC Class
333.7: Natural Resources, Energy and Environment
624: Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering
388: Transportation