CO2 champion
Average inland shipping vessels consume 4 to 7 times less fuel per tonnekm than trucks. With 5 litres of fuel, a ship can transport a tonne over a distance of 500km. A train will not get further than 333km, while a truck is out of fuel at 100km. The efficient energy use by inland shipping means less greenhouse gases are emitted.

Inland shipping works hard to do better
 New generation engines are more energy efficient and allow savings of 15%
  in CO2 emissions. 
 In combination with a tempomat regulating optimal navigation, up to 30%
  savings in CO2 emissions are possible.

Adaptation to climate change
Despite its good record with regard to greenhouse gas emissions, IWT is set to suffer under climate change. The first signs of global warming are already there, namely more frequent peak floods in winter and longer low water levels due to drier summers. The latter will affect inland shipping operations most. By increased maintenance and the building of lighter vessels, the most negative effects of low water levels can be probably avoided. This is important in busy waterfreight regions such as the Rhine-Scheldt delta where almost 50% of the hinterland traffic travels by water, and no other transport alternatives are available due to capacity bottlenecks.