Just read that a single cargo ship can pollute as much as 50 million cars

I saw this in a report from the International Council on Clean Transportation last week. It's about the sulfur in the fuel these big ships burn. Some people say we need to force them to use cleaner fuel fast, even if it costs more. Others argue that would hurt global trade and raise prices for everything. What's the best way to fix this without causing other big problems?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnh822mo ago

Remember reading about this sulfur cap a few years back. The rule change forced ships to switch to cleaner fuel or get scrubbers. It did raise shipping costs a bit, but the air got way better near major ports almost overnight. The key was giving them a clear deadline and a couple of years to get ready, so it wasn't a total shock to the system. We need to keep pushing those deadlines for even cleaner tech.

evanr792mo ago

Yeah, that clear deadline really made the difference. When you say we need to keep pushing deadlines for cleaner tech, what's the next big target you'd set? Like, are we talking about a full move away from heavy fuel oil, or something else?

rubyreed1mo ago

Throw in a fuel tax on top of that deadline approach. Not a huge one, just enough so that buying the cheap dirty stuff slowly becomes more expensive than just switching over. The sulfur cap worked because it was a hard stop, but a small cost penalty helps nudge the stragglers who would otherwise wait until the last minute. It also quietly funds things like shore power plug ins at docks, which cuts emissions even when the engines are off.