Container shipping emissions have soared due to Red Sea crisis in 2024

Emissions last year were about 50% higher than what might have been expected had Houthi attacks not led shipping to divert away from the Suez Canal, according to estimates by Sea-Intelligence.

Container shipping emissions fell on average by 4.4% from 2018 to 2023. If that trend had continued, total emissions would have been about 34.7m tonnes in 2024, the Danish analyst notes.

Instead, the emissions figure rose to 52.7m tonnes — about 51.9% higher than what would normally have been expected.

SeaIntel said: “Assuming that the primary cause of the emissions increase in 2024 is due to the round-Africa routing, then the actions of the Houthis have caused an added level of CO2 emissions in 2024 related to container shipping of 18 million tonnes.

“This is essentially the same as the carbon emissions from Cambodia.”

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“The Red Sea crisis has, however, not really had a measurable impact on other shipping segments than container shipping, as no major increase is recorded in 2024 for these segments.”

Inevitable record emissions

The crisis in the Red Sea led to a “staggering” 45% increase in CO2 emissions from container shipping in the European Union in 2024, according to mandatory EU emissions data under the EU Monitoring, Reporting and Verification regulations.

For the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), each ton of CO2 emissions from shipping within its scope requires the purchase and surrender of one European Union Allowance (EUA). Therefore, the increased emissions from container shipping will necessitate a corresponding increase in the number of EUAs that must be purchased by shipping companies, potentially impacting the price of EUAs on the market.

source: tradewinds