How shipping contributes heavily to climate change

The container shipping lines are betting on greener technologies, but there are still reasons those wagers could fail

- ANA SWANSON

ON A BRIGHT SEPTEMBER day on the harbor in Copenhagen, several hundred people gathered to welcome the official arrival of Laura Maersk. Laura was not a visiting European dignitary like many of those in attendance. She was a hulking containership, towering a hundred feet above the crowd, and the most visible evidence to date of an effort by the global shipping industry to mitigate its role in the planet's warming.

The ship, commissioned by the Danish shipping giant Maersk, was designed with a special engine that can burn two types of fuel - either the black, sticky oil that has powered ships for more than a century, or a greener type made from methanol. By switching to green methanol, this single ship will produce 100 fewer tons of greenhouse gas per day, an amount equivalent to the emissions of 8,000 cars.

Cargo shipping is responsible for nearly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions producing roughly as much carbon each year as the aviation industry does. Figuring out how to limit those emissions has been tricky. Unlike cars and trucks, ships can't plug in frequently enough to be powered by batteries and the electrical grid: They need a clean fuel that is portable. The Laura Maersk is the first of its kind to set sail with a green methanol engine and represents a significant step in the industry's efforts to address its contribution to climate change.