This document is independent research commissioned by Swire Shipping and conducted by the Electric Power Engineering Centre at the University of Canterbury, evaluating the opportunity to engineer transition to a low carbon freight transport system in New Zealand.
The research includes analysis of New Zealand-specific emissions by key commodities, with energy use and greenhouse gas emissions estimated across all freight transportation modes (Road, Rail, and Coastal Shipping).
Considering all the emission sources investigated, the research finds that road emissions are between 2.4 and 2.7 times higher than rail, and between 5 and 5.6 times larger than coastal shipping emissions.
The research finds that a shift of inter-island “general” road freight movements to coastal shipping can potentially increase ship utilisation from 70% to 90%, leading to an annual reduction of 161.7 kt CO2, which represents approximately 5.1% of direct heavy freight carbon emissions.
(Available on the NZSF website with permission by Swire Shipping)
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