Transport emissions study ‘misleading’ say experts

Experts are calling “misleading” a study which suggests that emissions from the shipping industry cool the world and will continue to do so for centuries. The study was published in a leading scientific journal on Monday.

“The conclusions may be misleading to policymakers if they take this paper to be an assessment of the future impact of transport modes,” Alice Bows of the Tyndall Centre in the UK told New Scientist.


…The key point which Fuglestvedt’s study has missed is to do with the longevity of the different emissions, note emissions experts. CO2 stays in the atmosphere for over 100 years, whereas particulate matter gets rained back down to the Earth’s surface within days.

So, over time, the warming gases will cumulate in the atmosphere, while the cooling particles disappear. But the calculations which led Fuglestvedt to the conclusion that shipping causes a long-term cooling did not take this into account. Instead, the researchers simply looked at the long-term effects of one year’s worth of emissions.

New Scientist