How Can Freight Carbon Emissions Be Cut?

Written By Teacher: Teresa Pettitt-Kenney

Hi there! My name is Teresa and I just finished my Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and am excited to pursue environmental education in the future! I am extremely passionate about climate change, equitable climate action, and how education can work to address these issues. 

Freight transportation is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, and its impact is only growing. As teachers, we can help students explore solutions like green technology and clean energy when we are teaching about topics such as transportation, fast fashion, or carbon footprints. This article investigates the carbon footprint of transportation and explores ways we can mitigate it. Bring these topics into your classroom by utilizing engaging lessons on carbon footprints like this Fast Fashion Lesson Plan or by exploring solutions to transportation through resources like Efficient Trucks.

Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.

Transportation is already one of the world’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases, and its emissions are predicted to grow dramatically, says Josué Velázquez Martínez, research scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. A major reason why is freight: the planes, trains, trucks, cargo ships, and other vehicles used to move billions of tons of cargo around the world. Freight transportation makes up 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and its carbon emissions may double by 2050.

Velázquez Martínez says the best way to reduce freight’s carbon footprint is to focus on what is called the “last mile”—the trucks and vans that carry goods from regional distribution hubs to local stores or homes. Even though most of the world’s cargo travels by sea, these land vehicles have an outsized impact on carbon emissions: road freight emits more than 100 times as much CO2 as a cargo ship to carry the same amount of stuff the same distance. And road freight is growing quickly, in part because of the rise of e-commerce, which has accelerated the number of packages delivered to homes.

Fortunately, trucks and vans are good candidates for the use of greener technology. Current alternatives to CO2-emitting oil-based fuels, such as battery-electric power, are not practical for huge vehicles like airplanes and cargo ships, but can easily power road vehicles traveling shorter distances within a city. However, simply building more electric trucks is not enough, Velázquez Martínez says. The world also needs large investments in clean energy sources such as wind and solar, so that the energy needed to charge all those trucks does not come from fossil fuels.