Episode 12: Part 1 | Climate Logistics: Beyond Decarbonization – Setting the Stage

Episode 12: Part 1 | Climate Logistics: Beyond Decarbonization – Setting the Stage

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What role does logistics really play in the climate crisis?

In this first episode of our new podcast series, Smart Freight Conversations, SFC Academy’s Andy Golding speaks with renowned expert, Kuhne Logistics University's Professor Emeritus Alan McKinnon to explore a powerful concept: Climate Logistics.

For years, logistics has primarily been viewed through the lens of decarbonization — a sector responsible for significant emissions, targeted for reduction. But this episode challenges that narrow view.

"Moving and storing stuff lies at the heart of our battle against climate change."
– Professor Emeritus Alan McKinnon

Logistics plays not one, but eight roles in the climate crisis:
  • Cause – being a relatively carbon-intensive activity, logistics makes a substantial contribution to global GHG emissions.
  • Decarbonizer – efforts are well underway to cut these emissions using a variety of methods.
  • Victim – logistical systems and the infrastructures upon which they rely require adaptation to direct and indirect effects of climate change.
  • Adaptor – logistical systems and the infrastructures upon which they rely require adaptation to direct and indirect effects of climate change
  • Facilitator – logistics plays a key role in the decarbonization and climate-proofing of other economic and social activities.
  • Rescuer – logistics provides both emergency and longer-term relief to communities experiencing climate-related disasters,
  • Remover – logistics is fundamental to the process of carbon sequestration that will be needed to achieve Net Zero targets.
  • Geo-engineer – if, as a last resort, solar geo-engineering is ever required to shield the planet from sunlight, logistics would be critical to the injection of aerosols into the stratosphere.
He emphasizes the interconnectedness of these roles — and the need for systems thinking, rather than siloed approaches. He also highlights that while logistics is vulnerable to climate impacts, it is equally positioned to be a catalyst for transformation.

From enabling renewable energy deployment to supporting closed-loop supply chains, logistics is a sector that must evolve—and lead— in the face of global climate challenges.
Want to learn more about this topic? Enroll in SFC Academy courses, or explore other educational resources in Sustainable Logistics:

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