The World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI) of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) will become the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) in 2018.
The original initiative, WPCI, is being extended to include the full spectrum of sustainability port development challenges as well as its initial purpose of mitigating climate action. The new IAPH program, WPSP, will be officially launched in Antwerp, Belgium at an international conference being held in March next year.
The idea behind the policy upgrade is to ensure that it meets the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015, covering biosphere, society and economy.
Under its former Climate Initiative, IAPH created guidelines on “Carbon Footprinting for Ports” and an Environmental Ship Index (ESI), a tool to help ports to identify and reward ships with low emissions. The ESI now has 5,500 registered vessels, up by roughly 900 from last October, along with 50 participating incentive providers.
