OAKLAND, Calif. — Fifty-five ports from around the world agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions and boost air quality with the endorsement of the World Ports Climate Declaration.
The ports lent their support to the initiative last week at the C40 World Ports Climate Conference held in Rotterdam. Now, under the direction of the International Association of Ports and Harbours, they will explore ways of addressing emissions, including work on developing carbon footprints and a global indexing system that can be used to reward clean ships and punish polluters.
Ports for container ships are one of the largest sources of emissions and pollution in the U.S., according to a
study released earlier this year. The U.N. International Maritime Organization estimates that shipping is responsible for 3.5 percent of emissions worldwide. The shipping industry, however, is not included in the Kyoto Protocol.
More ports will be invited to sign the declaration after it is finished. A follow-up gathering will take place in November in Los Angeles, a port recognized as being on the forefront of reducing port-related emissions.
"Long Beach and L.A. (ports) live and breath air quality issues," Meredith Martino, manager of government relations and envionmental policy for the American Association of Port Authorities, told GreenBiz.com last week. "They don't have a choice, they have to be extremely
proactive."
In the U.S., ports have taken positions on alternative fuels and cleaner conventional fuels but haven't figured out the best way to address greenhouse gas emissions.
"I think ports are still trying to get their arms around greenhouse gas emissions ... There's a lot of variation in how ports are addressing it," Martino said.
