Ports play an important role in reducing the global carbon footprint of maritime shipping, says a new report by the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD.
Greenhouse gas emissions from shipping currently represent around 2.6% of total global emissions. Without reduction measures, this share could more than triple by 2050. Last week, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set a target of reducing shipping CO2 emissions by “at least” 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. To achieve this, stringent measures now need to be put into place.
Port Incentives
While the focus is naturally on the ships themselves, portside measures can significantly add to the environmental performance of shipping and the decarbonisation of maritime transport, the ITF report says.
Today, 28 of the 100 world’s largest ports (in terms of total cargo volume handled) offer incentives for environmentally-friendly ships:
- Some US ports offer reductions for ships reducing speed when approaching the port.
- The Panama Canal Authority provides priority slot allocation to greener ships.
- Spain includes environmental incentives in the tender and license criteria for the towage services provided in ports.
- Shanghai has an emission-trading scheme that includes ports and domestic shipping.
Port-based Incentives Should Be Expanded
However, green incentives typically apply to no more than 5% of the ships calling at a port with an incentive scheme. Only five ports use CO2 emissions as a substantial criterion for incentives. Thus, any incentives that ship-owners currently have to order more efficient ships with lower emissions can only to a very small extent be a result of port-based incentives.
The report recommends to:
- acknowledge the important role of ports in mitigating shipping emissions;
- expand port-based incentives for low-emission ships;
- link port-based incentives to actual greenhouse gas emissions; and
- move to a more harmonised application of green port fees.
The work for the report was carried out with support from the Environmental Defense Fund Europe.
The report "Reducing Shipping Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Lessons from Port-based Incentives" can be downloaded from the ITF website.
