TIL a single cargo ship pollutes as much as 50 million cars

I was reading a report from the International Maritime Organization last night and it blew my mind. One big container ship burning heavy fuel oil can put out as much sulfur oxide as 50 million cars. That stat came from a 2023 study they published. I knew shipping was bad but not that bad. The thing is most of us never even think about the ships bringing our stuff from overseas. We worry about our car emissions but ignore the supply chain completely. What do you all do to offset this kind of hidden pollution in your daily lives?

2 comments

2 Comments

paulc933d ago

The 50 million cars number comes from comparing sulfur oxides, not CO2, and new shipping fuel rules from 2020 cut sulfur by over 80% already. A single coal plant in China probably puts out more pollution than a hundred cargo ships combined. How much of this stat is just cherry picking to make a scary headline?

oliver2423d ago

Is it really just about offsetting though or is there a bigger problem with how much stuff we buy? Like I know I could buy less but the whole system is built on cheap shipping... how do you even start to fix that when everything we own comes from the other side of the planet? That stat about the sulfur oxide makes me wonder what other stuff we're breathing in that we just don't see.