Role of the industry
Delivering the scale of carbon reduction needed for a net zero world by 2050 demands companies transform - decarbonizing their value chain, and by helping the world to get to zero emissions. Transport has been one of the fastest growing sources of emissions, having increased by 71% since 1990, and now accounts for approximately one-quarter of global GHG emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector primarily involve fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation. Almost all (95%) of the world's transportation energy comes from petroleum-based fuels, largely gasoline and diesel. Taking action on emissions is essential, especially as legal regulations are expected to tighten and public pressure will only increase.
Understanding your carbon footprint
In order to tackle climate change effectively, companies benefit from having a clear understanding of which parts of their business emit the most greenhouse gases.
The principal driver of emissions across the transport and logistics sector is from fuel consumption. Emissions associated with production of goods, and downstream emissions from end of life and disposal are also significant.
A company can build an understanding of their total impact by conducting a GHG value chain assessment, supplementing available company data with modeled estimates. Cozero Log can help to do this.
Managing your carbon footprint
For companies in Transport and Logistics, carbon abatement is constrained by maturity of technological solutions that replace fuels. However, innovation is happening at pace, and there are also significant opportunities through operational efficiency. Companies can also work with industry and consumers to tackle emissions through the supply chain and their consumers use of products; and by supporting carbon removal and reduction projects across the world.
The biggest lever for carbon action is to scale zero-carbon transport through electrification or use of zero carbon fuels - fuel-cell and battery trucks on road, biofuels or green ammonia in shipping, as well as bio- or e-fuels in aviation. Electric trucks are likely to become cost-competitive with diesel or gasoline vehicles during the 2020s. As an intermediate step, material efficiency in design and energy efficiency in use is key. Engine and vessel / airframe design will deliver efficiency in use, from aerodynamic and tyre design for drive efficiency in vehicles, to aircraft design to optimize flights.
Emissions are cut through consumer use. Route optimization and traffic management also lead to significant efficiency gains. Promoting higher utilization of products through sharing and mobility-as-as-service options will deliver product efficiency. Finally transport switching and reducing demand will ultimately cut emissions.
For a company's carbon footprint that is hard or not possible to address, companies can look to support projects that remove atmospheric CO₂, or reduce CO₂ from beyond their value chain.
Cozero Act sets out the carbon actions and solution providers to help companies focus on where action is needed most. Cozero Act supports companies to develop and manage bespoke carbon management action plans, as well as transparently track progress against these.