Decarbonizing Logistics

Alan McKinnon

Logistics accounts for around 9-10% of global CO2 emissions and will be one of the hardest economic sectors to decarbonize. This is partly because the demand for freight transport is expected to rise sharply over the next few decades, but also because it relies very heavily on fossil fuel. Decarbonizing Logistics outlines the nature and extent of the challenge we face in trying to achieve deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from logistical activities. It makes a detailed assessment of the available options, including restructuring supply chains, shifting freight to lower carbon transport modes and transforming energy use in the logistics sector. The options are examined from technological and managerial standpoints for all the main freight transport modes. Based on an up-to-date review of almost 600 publications and containing new analytical frameworks and research results, Decarbonizing Logistics is the first to provide a global, multi-disciplinary perspective on the subject. It is written by one of the foremost specialists in the field who has spent many years researching the links between logistics and climate change and been an adviser to governments, international organizations and companies on the topic.

Explains the external factors likely to influence the carbon reduction in logistics, such as freight transport demand, truck fuel consumption and related CO2 emissions

Chapter - 01: Climate change: the nature and scale of the challenge; Chapter - 02: Developing a decarbonisation strategy for logistics; Chapter - 03: Reducing freight transport intensity; Chapter - 04: Shifting freight to lower carbon transport modes; Chapter - 05: Improving asset utilisation in logistics; Chapter - 06: Transforming energy use in road freight transport; Chapter - 07: Transforming energy use in maritime, air cargo and rail freight sectors; Chapter - 08: Decarbonising logistics at the national level: the case of the united kingdom;