Our episode today is about shipping and its impact on climate change. In today’s episode, we will talk about some of the work by colleagues from the Tyndall Centre at Manchester University including the International Maritime Organisation's - the IMO’s in short - new shipping and climate strategy, technology like wind ships and electrification of ships, as well as the demand side of shipping.

International shipping emits around 700 million tonnes of CO2 a year, equivalent to emissions from Germany. So the sector is a major contributor to climate change.

The IMO is the United Nations specialised agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships. Last year, the IMO set out a new strategy that “includes an enhanced common ambition to reach net-zero GHG emissions from international shipping by or around, i.e. close to, 2050.” Is this new strategy enough? And what solutions are there?

Today we speak with Alice Larkin, Chris Jones, James Mason, and Simon Bullock from the University of Manchester – who all research shipping emissions.

Alice is a Professor of Climate Science and Energy Policy in Tyndall Manchester, where she has worked since 2003 on various aspects of decarbonising international aviation and later shipping.

Chris is the knowledge exchange fellow for Tyndall Manchester, connecting research expertise in the group to industry, government and civil society stakeholders.

James is a data scientist at Smart Green Shipping and visiting academic at Tyndall Manchester. He develops ship routing software that harnesses weather optimisation for ships using modern day sail technology.

Simon is a research associate at Tyndall Manchester, focussing on shipping and climate change.

Music by Ben Sound