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First of all, I know it is impossible to answer this question accurately. But that is not the point. An approximation will suffice.

For a project I need to display the CO2 "cost" for shipping a parcel. It primarily involves shipping parcels between Western European countries, but occasionally there will be some parcels going to Canada and the US as well.

So, how can I approach this with a fairly simple calculation?

wout
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Carbon intensity by shipping method

The World Shipping Council provides this chart showing approximate carbon emissions by shipping method:

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Shipping emissions calculators

If that's too approximate, there are a number of different calculators you can try out:

The last tab calculates annual emissions based on quantity, weight, and distance of packages shipped. It's annualized, which is annoying, but it's the only one of the three that includes air freight (and zeppelin!).

OOCL is a Hong Kong-based logistics and shipping company. This calculator breaks down results by shipping method, but only seems to work for major ports.

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CN is a Canadian railway operator. This calculator seems like the most useful of all. You enter the major ports for shipping distances, then add additional distances that the cargo will travel by train or truck.

enter image description here

LShaver
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  • Do you know if the weight of the ship itself is accounted for in the calculations? – clapas Jul 24 '20 at 13:02
  • @clapas this would directly affect fuel efficiency, so I'd assume so. A heavier ship, all else being equal, would use more fuel, and fuel use is what's actually being measured. – LShaver Jul 24 '20 at 14:36