by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 12:25 PM ET, Tue February 6, 2024
Carnival Corporation is on track to meet one of its sustainability goals early.
The cruise company expects to reduce its greenhouse gas emission intensity by 18 percent on a lower berth capacity basis in 2024 compared to 2019, it announced today.
By the end of this year, the company forecasts it will lower its greenhouse gas emission intensity by 42 percent compared to 2008, when it began keeping records. If that prediction comes true, Carnival Corp. will outpace the International Maritime Organization's goal of reducing carbon intensity by at least 40 percent by 2030.
Carnival Corp. had originally set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity by 20 percent by 2030. But, last year, its leaders decided to speed up that timeline and try to reach the goal by 2026.
How have Carnival Corp.’s various cruise lines managed to limit their emissions? First, they looked for areas where they could achieve efficiencies and curb their energy use, such as by installing more modern HVAC systems, optimizing hull design and applying special coatings to minimize drag, creating more energy-efficient itineraries and using shoreside electric power whenever possible.
The company also installed LED and smart-lighting technologies and installed air lubrication systems to help ships glide through the water with less friction. Vessels also began relying more on energy-efficient navigational techniques, such as weather routing and ocean currents, to reduce fuel usage while cruising.
In addition, Carnival Corp. also began exploring lower-emission alternatives to fossil fuels. For example, nine of the company’s vessels can run on liquified natural gas (with two more liquified natural gas-capable ships on order), which reduces direct carbon emissions by up to 20 percent. Using liquified natural gas also eliminated sulfur dioxides and lowered other types of emissions, including particulates and nitrogen oxides.
The company is also experimenting with biofuels, lithium-ion battery storage systems and hydrogen-powered fuel cells. It’s also using systems that help remove particulates and other compounds from its ships’ exhaust.
Longer-term, these changes are meant to help Carnival Corp. achieve net-zero emissions from its vessels by 2050. Today, Carnival Corp. is producing 10 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than its peak in 2011, even though it has increased capacity by some 30 percent since then.
In December, the company also revealed that it had reduced food waste per passenger by 38 percent between 2019 and 2023.
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