# Carbon dioxide: Movement

Why CO2 moves by road, not by ship

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/movement/

What this tab covers How it moves between countries: share of output traded, physical form and transport, the largest exporters and importers, main routes, India's trade, and handling rules in transit.

#### Trade in 2024 UN Comtrade, HS 281121
 World exports $661.6 m 107 reporting exporters · about 17.1 m t Largest exporter Netherlands 26.5% of world exports Largest importer France 6.8% of world imports India imports $799k
exports $3.81 m #82 importer · #35 exporter

#### Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024

Chart: World map of the largest trade flows
 Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024, HS 281121: shares of reported world exports and imports by value. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.

#### HS 281121: largest exporters

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Netherlands** | 26.5% | $175.5 m | 677k |
| **United States** | 6.6% | $43.8 m | 14.6 m |
| **Germany** | 5.4% | $35.7 m | 90k |
| **Belgium** | 3.7% | $24.5 m | 162k |
| **Austria** | 3.4% | $22.8 m | 37k |
| **China** | 3.4% | $22.3 m | 126k |
| **South Korea** | 3.2% | $21.5 m | 23k |
| **Singapore** | 2.8% | $18.2 m | 52k |

#### HS 281121: largest importers

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **France** | 6.8% | $47.8 m | 89k |
| **United Kingdom** | 6.6% | $46.2 m | 267k |
| **Mexico** | 5.6% | $39.1 m | 128k |
| **United States** | 4.3% | $30.1 m | 154k |
| **Poland** | 4.1% | $28.7 m | 7,868 |
| **Italy** | 3.8% | $26.6 m | 63k |
| **Germany** | 3.8% | $26.4 m | 226k |
| **Japan** | 3.3% | $22.9 m | 40k |

 UN Comtrade 2024, reported by each country (exports by exporters, imports by importers), all partners. Some countries (for example Russia and Iran) do not report, so their shares are missing. HS codes can be broader than the tile: check the code before reading a share as the whole market.

#### How it moves

| Measure | Figure |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Share traded** | small share crosses borders (indicative); most moves by road within a country |  |  |
| **How it moves** | Refrigerated liquid in insulated road tankers and ISO tanks, dry ice, cylinders; pipelines for EOR and CCS. Small CO2 ships run in Northern Europe, and larger ones are being built for CCS (Northern Lights, indicative). |  |  |
| **Routes and chokepoints** | Within Europe by road and short-sea; the UK relies on domestic supply plus imports from the Continent. US pipelines from Colorado and New Mexico to the Permian Basin. |  |  |
| **India** | Trade negligible; supply is domestic (HS 281121 values not retrieved). |  |  |
| **Handling in transit** | UN1013 (compressed, class 2.2); UN2187 (refrigerated liquid); UN1845 dry ice (class 9). Asphyxiant and toxic above about 5% in air; heavier than air. |  |  |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/trading/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/links/index.md)