Evolution of ship emissions in China

Ship emissions contribute significantly to air pollution and pose health risks to residents of coastal areas in China. A new study has estimated ship emissions in China from 2004 to 2013 and also made projections up to 2040 under different control scenarios.

For the area within 200 nautical miles of the Chinese coast, emissions of SO₂, NOx, CO, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and hydrocarbons in 2013 were estimated to amount respectively to 1010, 1443, 118, 107, 87 and 67 kilotonnes per year. Ship emissions have doubled over the last ten years, and now contribute around 10 per cent of the total SO₂ and NOx emissions in the coastal provinces of the country.

Ship emissions in ports accounted for about one quarter of the total emissions within the 200-nautical-mile zone, and nearly 80 per cent of the emissions were concentrated to the top ten busiest ports of China.

The authors concluded that the IMO’s 0.5-per-cent global sulphur cap would reduce ship SO₂ emissions by 80 per cent from 2020, but that a similar reduction in NOx emissions would require significant technological change and likely take several decades.

The article: “Decadal evolution of ship emissions in China from 2004 to 2013 by using an integrated AIS-based approach and projection to 2040” (2017). Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions: 1-36. DOI:10.5194/acp-2017-743. Link: http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/14939/