Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ
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SCIENCE

The Claim

International logistics and shipping account for approximately 11% of total product-related carbon footprints worldwide.

The Short Version

The 11% figure is real but applies to the entire logistics sector — freight transport plus warehousing and port operations — not to "international logistics and shipping" alone. Authoritative sources such as ISO and the World Economic Forum attribute roughly 8% of global emissions to freight transport, rising to ~11% only when warehousing and port infrastructure are included. International maritime shipping specifically accounts for approximately 2–3% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the IMO, UN, and OECD. The claim misattributes a broader statistic to a narrower category.

Caveats

  • The 11% figure cited in ISO and DHL/WEF sources explicitly includes warehousing and port operations — categories distinct from shipping and freight transport alone.
  • International maritime shipping is consistently estimated at 2–3% of global GHG emissions by the IMO, UN, and OECD — far below the 11% claimed.
  • 'Product-related carbon footprints' implies a life-cycle assessment framework, but the underlying 11% statistic measures logistics as a share of total global emissions, not as a share of product-level carbon footprints — these are different accounting methodologies.

The Receipts

  1. 打造净零排放的物流业 - ISO

    ISO

  2. New estimates provide insights on CO2 emissions from global shipping

    OECD Statistics Blog

  3. ISO 14083 - 外國標準

    fsms.bsmi.gov.tw

  4. How the world's shipping sector is setting sail for net zero

    UN News

  5. Reducing CO₂ Emissions in Transport and Logistics - DHL Freight Connections

    DHL Freight Connections

  6. 减碳物流路线图

    alj.com

  7. We Need Sustainable Supply Chains for Global Decarbonization - Earth.Org

    Earth.Org

  8. 救赎之路:物流业如何减少碳足迹

    DHL Logistics of Things

  9. Shipping emissions worldwide - statistics & facts - Statista

    Statista

  10. Shipping Emissions Statistics: Market Data Report 2026 - Gitnux

    Gitnux

+ 6 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

International LogisticsShipping