Reducing shipping emissions by reducing shipping demand  

Background: shipping trade data

Global trade has grown to extraordinary volumes in recent decades with over 12m tonnes of goods transported in 2024. Shipping is the backbone of this trade, with volumes growing exponentially in the last 40 years and accounting for 80% of the world’s goods trade.

Our analysis shows that, in 2023, GHG emissions from the containerised transport of electrical machinery alone came to over 12m tonnes of CO2e in a single year – the equivalent to two years’ worth of New York-London flights.

Our new report, Reducing shipping emissions by reducing demand, makes a clear case for altering the demand for shipping as a route to reducing GHG emissions and shows that even small differences can matter when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

What’s in the report? 

This report lays out the plausible scope of the potential demand reductions available by reducing demand for containerised trade using circular economy methods in destination economies. These methods include recycling, reusing, repairing and reprogramming, rather than demanding new shipments of manufactured goods over substantial distances.

We are at a time where the reshoring of production has assumed a central place in policymaking, and increasingly active use is being made of tariff and non-tariff measures to shape global trade. As a result, a substantial policy space has opened up for such measures, potentially made in close alignment with other economic and security policy goals.

James Meadway, Senior Economics Director at Opportunity Green and author of the report, says:

“In a world where 12 million tonnes of goods are carried by ships every year, even small savings in weight and transport time can add up into big reductions in emissions. With governments around the world increasingly looking to reshore and reshape their supply chains, reducing the demand for long-distance, heavy-weighted shipping is a rare win-win: creating jobs for domestic economies, and reducing environmental harms.”

Read the report to find out:

• Why addressing shipping demand has significant GHG potential

• How Trump’s tariffs have impacted world trade – and the knock-on effect on shipping’s emissions

• The potential changes that can be made to reduce global shipping demand

• Shipping trade data

• Circular economy policy options 

Download the report below: