Author(s): Christiaan De Beukelaer

Level 02 Emergent

Almost everything you consume, from your weekly shop to the Christmas presents you ordered online, arrived by cargo ship. Shipping is the engine of the world economy, transporting 11 billion tonnes of goods each year. Despite an environmental crisis, shipping emissions have doubled since 1990, producing over one billion tonnes of CO2, more than aviation, more than Germany, even more than France, Britain, and Italy combined.To understand whether there are any realistic and sustainable alternatives for the industry, Christiaan De Beukelaer spent 150 days covering 14,000 nautical miles on-board the Avontuur, a century old two masted schooner fitted for cargo. Trade winds traces the author’s transatlantic journey, which crystallised his thinking on the uncertain future facing the gargantuan machine that is commercial shipping. This book engagingly recounts both this personal odyssey and the journey the shipping industry is embarking on to cut its carbon emissions.'Trade Winds is an absorbing account of a voyage that starts off as an effort to prove the continuing viability of sail, but becomes far more challenging than expected when the Covid pandemic shuts of all access to the shore. It is also a thoughtful analysis of practical ways for shrinking the carbon footprint of one of the world's most polluting industries — shipping.' — Amitav Ghosh, author of The Nutmeg's Curse