This chart shows an EU ETS-style country-attribution approach. For international voyages, half of the emissions are attributed to the departure country and half to the arrival country. Domestic voyages and port emissions are fully attributed to that country.
When applied consistently across countries, Singapore emerges among those with the largest shipping footprints. Given its leading role in bunkering and transshipment, this is unsurprising: as a major hub, Singapore is naturally part of someone else’s journey.
Monitoring emissions by vessel type can help to identify which parts of the fleet are driving overall
emissions trends.
Container ships and tankers account for nearly 85% of vessel emissions linked to Singapore, a testament to the
country’s role in global trade and maritime connectivity. Together, these vessel types underpin much of global
trade.
This concentration means changes in fuel use and operations along major trade routes are likely to have an
outsized impact on Singapore’s shipping emissions footprint.
Voyage-level analysis suggests that Europe and Northeast Asia account for a substantial share of emissions
linked to Singapore.
As shipping decarbonisation increasingly advances corridor by corridor, accelerating efforts along these
routes, where traffic, fuel demand and emissions are already heavily clustered, could deliver a
disproportionate share of emissions reductions.
Narrowing the boundary to activity within Singapore’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) provides a more local view of where emissions occur. The geographic boundary follows third-party maritime data and does not independently define Singapore’s maritime jurisdiction.
As the city-state works towards its target of reducing absolute emissions from port terminals by at least 60% in 2030, understanding where emissions are concentrated can help identify where operational improvements may have the greatest impact. With much of the emissions occurring at berth, Singapore’s growing focus on electrification, from electric harbour craft to the development of Tuas Mega Port, comes into clearer focus.
Singapore’s national emissions are shown here as a familiar reference point for understanding the scale of emissions associated with bunker fuel sales. These figures have different accounting boundaries: under UNFCCC reporting, emissions from international marine bunker fuels are reported separately from national greenhouse gas inventories.
The comparison does not suggest that 157 MtCO₂e should be included in Singapore’s national inventory. Fuel sales alone do not establish responsibility for the associated emissions, nor does supplying international shipping at scale translate directly into equivalent economic value for Singapore.