Will renewable energy fuel a new generation of eco-shipping?

Shipping will never be green, right? Cargo ships: those fossil-fuel-guzzling hulks, are ubiquitous. The International Maritime Organisation reports that the global shipping industry emits over a billion tonnes of CO2 per year – an output equal to Germany's – and produces large amounts of black carbon and toxic oxides of sulphur to boot. There's still no agreed upon mechanism to render the industry responsible for its greenhouse gas emissions. At the end of their lives, ships are dismantled in dangerous  and toxic conditions in the less developed countries.

But shipping doesn't have to be an environmentalist's nightmare. While shipping has a footprint on a par with aviation, it manages to carry carry 90% of the world's total volume of freight. An Ecologist investigation published in 2009 highlighted energy-saving technologies that have the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of conventional shipping by up to three-quarters. Now recent developments in the world of shipping is mean plans for 100% renewably powered ships are drawing close to fruition.
 

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