A Study on the Limitations of Green Alternative Fuels in Global Shipping in the Foreseeable Future

Shipping carries over 80% of global trade volumes and emits 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but it is hard to abate due to the simple fact that ships require a lot of energy and move around. Therefore, a large amount of research and development is poured into understanding the choices of alternative fuels and developing new technologies. Unfortunately, much of the work and policies derived, therefore, seem to rest on a hidden assumption that a relevant amount of green alternative fuel will be available, but that assumption does not stand up to scrutiny on a global level. For example, the results show that decarbonizing global shipping using green ammonia produced from renewable energy sources will require 3.7 times the total EU-27 power production in 2022. The purpose and novelty of this paper are to offer a clear rationale for the correct contextualization of research and development on curbing greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping and individual shipping segments to avoid overpromising and underdelivering.