The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences (XMAS 2025)

The maritime transport industry, a crucial component of global trade, releases an enormous quantity of greenhouse gases, contributing significantly to global climate change. While the latest international shipping emission reduction targets and standards are well-defined, the specific strategies and measures for reducing emissions are still unclear. The spatial and temporal characteristics of carbon emissions from shipping, as well as the mechanisms of influence, serve as vital for identifying areas that require immediate management and determining the key steps to mitigate emissions. Our study utilised AIS vessel trajectory data to measure carbon emissions from shipping activities within the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of 66 countries along the Maritime Silk Road (MSR). The study also portrays their spatio-temporal characteristics. Additionally, a spatial Durbin model is applied to explore the spatial spillover effects of macro-factors external to the transport system, such as economic and trade activities, globalisation, logistics and transportation capacity, and government efficiency, on shipping carbon emissions.The total carbon emissions from shipping in the EEZs of China, Indonesia, Japan, India and Malaysia rank the highest among the countries along MSR. The significant spatial correlation of shipping carbon emissions signifies that the region's maritime carbon emissions warrant joint efforts to control them, instead to go it alone. The negative spatial spillover effects of global innovation, ICT infrastructure and government stability on shipping carbon emissions suggest that countries along the MSR can step up their efforts to improve these aspects, in a way that can spur a region-wide reduction in shipping carbon emissions. This study supports the advancement of the "Belt and Road" Blue Cooperation Initiative and offers theoretical guidance for reducing global shipping emissions.
 

marine shipping emissions,spatial econometric model,Maritime Silk Road,AIS