by Ewa Kochańska

Sea shipping is responsible for over 90% of world trade, and it's the most cost-ffective mode of transport as well as the most energy-effcient way of moving large volumes of cargo worldwide.

While it's is responsible for "only" around 2.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a figure expected to grow 50-250% by 2050, the impact shipping has on human health amounts to around 60,000 cardiopulmonar and lung-cancer deaths per year (e.g., 2007's Mortality from Ship Emissions: A Global Assessment) due to its use of cheap, low-grade fuel oil (with 3,500 times more sulphur than road diesel).

Whether we put the environment or public health in the limelight, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency in charge of shipping regulation, has struggled with tackling the GHG emission issue for so long, it has prompted calls for an overhaul of the agency.

 

 

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