Inland AIS Emissions Estimation

Inland AIS emissions estimation derives fuel burn and exhaust emissions on rivers and canals from Automatic Identification System tracks rather than from fuel records. Decoded AIS gives each vessel’s position, speed over ground, and identity at sub-minute intervals; matched to a ship register for engine power and to an emission factor per fuel and load, it yields a bottom-up CO2, NOx, SOx, and particulate inventory by waterway segment. Inland barges often lack mandatory fuel reporting, so the method fills the gap the EU MRV and IMO DCS cover for seagoing ships. Accuracy hinges on AIS coverage, the load assumption from speed, and the assumed specific fuel consumption.