AP turns into Scrooge on Christmas: ‘Fast shipping is increasing emissions…comes with a climate cost’
https://apnews.com/article/climate-online-shopping-expedited-shipping-fulfillment-center-e809c3508a15033f4707dc2abbb6de69
AP: Fast shipping is increasing emissions. Here’s why delivery has become more polluting
It feels simple: You shop, find something you want and click to buy. It shows up today, overnight or tomorrow. We’ve gotten used to that speed. But that convenience comes with a climate cost.
Multiple factors shape the environmental toll of a delivery. These include the distance from a fulfillment center, whether the shipment rides in a half-empty truck, how many trips a driver makes in the same area and the type of transportation used to move the package.
When customers choose faster shipping and earlier delivery dates, the system shifts from optimized routing to whatever gets the package out fastest, and that means higher emissions, said Sreedevi Rajagopalan, a research scientist at MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics. For example, trucks may leave warehouses before they’re full and drivers might loop the same neighborhood multiple times a day, she said.
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“For the same demand, fast shipping definitely increases emissions 10 to 12%,” she said.
0 seconds of 1 minute, 30 secondsVolume 90%
To meet tight delivery windows, retailers may rely on air freight, which produces far more emissions than other options such as trains, making it the most carbon-intensive.
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Emissions rise even more when customers place multiple small orders throughout the week.
“If I place an order this morning and then I place an order this evening and choose fast shipping, the company might have already processed my morning order and wouldn’t wait for my evening order to consolidate,” she said.
Latest climate hoax claim: Expedited delivery causes global warming:
“When customers choose faster shipping and earlier delivery dates, the system shifts from optimized routing to whatever gets the package out fastest, and that means higher emissions, said Sreedevi Rajagopalan,… pic.twitter.com/gPXAAF5cRc
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) December 23, 2025