Modernizing Ports Is a Major Untapped Opportunity for a Healthier Planet

If global shipping were a country, it would rank among the world’s top six emitters of climate-harming greenhouse gases (GHGs). Eighty percent of international trade — fundamental to the global economy and the goods we use in our everyday lives — travels by sea from port to port, generating 3% of global GHG emissions. Reducing these emissions is critically urgent to protecting our climate, oceans, economy and human health.

Countries have already focused significant attention on trying to decarbonize vessels and develop new fuels. Most recently, after 10 years of development and negotiations, the world was poised to pass a new framework from the International Maritime Organization that would have created a market-based system designed to promote vessel decarbonization.

Ships exceeding carbon-intensity targets would be required to pay penalties, while ships outperforming the targets would be rewarded and able to sell credits. The system would have raised revenue for an international fund that would help spur a transition to lower-emissions fuels.

But just as this paradigm-shifting program was set to be adopted, the U.S. and a small number of other countries abruptly withdrew their support, delaying the plan’s potential adoption for at least another year.

With progress on the water facing a fresh reckoning that calls for new collective efforts, now is the time to bolster efforts on the shore, where ports are largely an untapped resource in the fight against climate change.

Ports are a major polluter, generating harmful emissions and seldom prioritized for trailblazing climate action despite their importance to the ocean and global shipping. Of the world’s 50 largest ports, 42 are located around cities, where they generate jobs that support local and national economies and trade connections across the globe.

With the global move to address vessel-based emissions at a crossroad, there’s momentum and opportunity for ports and their home cities to play a more significant role in addressing climate change and economic development while safeguarding ocean and human health.

Early Movers Help Define Successful Decarbonization

Some countries and ports are already starting to pave the way toward full port decarbonization. These early actions present a wealth of experience that can facilitate broader progress on what works, what doesn’t, and what regulatory, financial and political conditions are required to succeed.

In 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a $3 billion Clean Ports Program, awarding 54 grants to fund clean port equipment and infrastructure as well as climate and air quality planning at ports located in 27 states and territories, where the work to decarbonize is still ongoing.

Earlier this year, government representatives of Brazil and Ocean Panel member, Norway signed a memorandum of understanding to promote sustainable maritime transport, including port decarbonization. This agreement looks to initiate low-carbon supply chains to create a green maritime corridor between the two countries.

The Port of Barcelona is already installing shore power for both container ships and passenger ferries, drawing on 100% renewable electricity. The port is also investing in electric straddle carriers for moving containers as part of its broader efforts to halve carbon emissions by 2030 (relative to 2017). Meanwhile, the Port of Trelleborg in Sweden is aiming for net-zero emissions by 2040 and exploring green fuel options. It is also establishing “green corridors,” which aim to create low-emission transportation routes with partner ports.

In China, the Port of Shanghai has developed a workplan to boost the transition toward alternative maritime fuels. This will increase the supply of liquefied natural gas, methanol and ammonia for vessel refueling (known as bunkering). A maritime decarbonization center is planned to help coordinate efforts in the transition toward alternative fuels.

In the Netherlands, major trading hubs like Rotterdam have set out a clear goal to become the green shipping hub of Europe. They, and many smaller ports including Walvis Bay in Namibia, have begun to pilot the production of green hydrogen.

4 Key Benefits of Decarbonizing Ports

Port decarbonization can provide a quadruple win, providing effective options for climate change mitigation, economic opportunity, improved human health and ocean ecosystem benefits:

1) A Powerful Force Against Climate Change

The decarbonization of shipping and ports is one of the most actionable and achievable opportunities to support the development of a sustainable ocean economy today while mitigating the impacts of climate change. Research indicates that action across seven ocean economy sectors can provide over 35% of the emissions reductions required by 2050 to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Of these sectors, decarbonizing shipping and ports can mitigate 2 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year in emissions reductions by 2050 — that’s equivalent to more than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, or taking around 430 million gas-fueled cars off the road every year.

2) More Economic and Job Opportunities 

Decarbonizing ports can generate new economic opportunities, greater security in the energy and food sectors, and enhance stable global trade connectivity and partnerships.  According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the ocean economy has doubled since 1995, growing at an average rate of 2.8% per year globally. The same research also concludes that a sustainable global ocean economy will continue to grow — tripling in production by 2050, relative to 2020. Considering employment as a metric, the decarbonization of ports and shipping could support 13.3 million additional jobs in 2050 — including shipbuilding, renewable and alternative fuel production, vessel and port facility retrofitting, shipbreaking, electrical work and more — relative to a business-as-usual scenario.   

3) Better Health Outcomes for Communities

There are clear benefits to human health from port decarbonization. Vessels currently running on heavy fuel oil emit toxic air pollution that includes particulate matter, black carbon, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Decarbonizing vessels, when scaled to ports globally, could help to avoid as many as 265,000 premature deaths globally each year. Air quality improvements will benefit not only port workers, but also those communities living in proximity to ports, many of which are disadvantaged relative to other city neighborhoods. This would particularly benefit children, who breathe in more volume of air relative to their body weight and are in critical development stages, which make them especially vulnerable to air pollution.

4) Healthier Ocean Ecosystems

Ocean health would benefit from port decarbonization through a likely reduction in the frequency and size of oil and diesel spills. Decarbonization would also counter the localized ocean acidification that is associated with emissions of nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide from fossil fuels. Alongside broader coastal habitat restoration activities, it’s possible that we could start to see nature returning to ports. 

Seizing the Opportunity

Achieving the full potential of decarbonized ports will require robust planning and implementation while aligning with business interests. Specifically, port planning needs to be paired with climate action plans and integrate terminal operators, logistics companies and local residents. As shipping is already a natural global connector, communication and coordination between cities and other ports will ensure that successes can scale widely.

Cities Are Key to Port Decarbonization

As seen from some of the early mover examples, high-level intergovernmental efforts to drive sector decarbonization requires city-level leadership for implementation. Cities are hubs of economic activity, and their administrations have influence over the businesses and developments within their limits.

To date, city leaders have played a key role as enablers and advocates for the rapid development of climate resilience. Decarbonizing ports provides further opportunities to promote sustainable growth and investment while mitigating climate change and boosting energy security and trade connectivity.

Private Sector Involvement is Crucial

The private sector has begun to set corporate targets and invest in low-carbon fuel and vessel innovations. In turn, ports are also starting to take action, identifying opportunities and challenges and developing plans for electrification.

Coordinating activities between the private sector and ports is challenging, however, because of a number of cross cutting areas that affect decision making both for shipping and cruise operators and ports. Chief among these is uncertainty generated by competing fuel technologies.

Putting One Decarbonized Step in Front of the Other

To make progress on decarbonization there are critical needs, including:

• Analysis on the economic case for action based on the current and projected future state of progress in vessel decarbonization and fuel choices.
• Analysis of the benefits and challenges associated with various alternative fuel options, including electrification, biofuel strategies that minimize suboptimal land use, ammonia, methanol and hydrogen, for land-side and water-side equipment and vessels.
• A roadmap for fuel development and cost/benefit analysis for the conversion of systems.
• Guidance and detailed case studies from ports that have started the transition exploring what has worked and why.

However, decarbonization efforts could start immediately with the electrification of port ground vehicles like terminal tractors, cranes, straddle carriers, heavy forklifts and heavy goods vehicles that serve as cargo handling equipment. These vehicles are under continuous intensive use in ports and typically powered by older diesel internal combustion engines. They consume about 15% of total port energy yet are responsible for up to 30% of particulate emissions. Switching to electric power will result in significant improvements of local air quality alongside reduced noise pollution.

Additionally, the electrification of short-trip port harbor vessels including tugs, pilot boats, mooring tenders and maintenance craft could lead to port greenhouse gas emissions reductions by as much as 25%. The electrification of domestic passenger ferry routes is becoming increasingly common as a method to increase operational efficiency and reduce port-based greenhouse gas emissions, with Norway in particular leading the charge.

A further step is for large vessels like cruise ships and cargo ships utilizing ports, such as container ships, to use electricity supplied through shore power (also known as ‘cold ironing’) when docked to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and immediately improve air quality by limiting the need for running diesel generators. Analysis suggests carbon emissions associated with docked ships could be reduced by 30% to 60% depending on the source of the shore power.

Emerging opportunities are also offering some solutions but will require more studies and testing. These include decarbonizing the main propulsion systems of ships through hybridization and/or use of alternative fuels like methanol and ammonia, which can lead to a significant reduction of carbon emissions. Further reductions can also take place if coupled with technical measures such as  air lubrication, sail assistance, efficient propellor designs, and operational measures like slow steaming, frequent hull de-fouling, and route optimization that consider prevailing weather conditions.

To support landside electrification of ports, the installation of increased port renewable energy generation capacity and battery storage capacity (through microgrids) will be crucial. Wind, solar and tidal generation show particular promise at ports, and can further enhance the resilience of operations to main grid disruptions and energy price fluctuations.

Accelerating Port Decarbonization

As noted, cities have a key role to play in advancing port decarbonization as a method to reduce their overall emissions. Specific steps include: 

1. Naming port decarbonization as key to carbon neutrality. Many cities have announced reduced or net-zero emissions goals to combat climate change. Ports can be elevated as a priority to address significant emissions while improving public health.
2. Setting ambitious mid- and long-term targets for emissions reductions at the city-level would create momentum and accountability regardless of stalled national or international progress.
3. Translating clean technology deployments in other sectors to ports including leveraging lessons and infrastructure from land transport electrification. The rapidly growing electric vehicle segment offers innovative approaches in shipping and goods movement.
4. Promoting exchanges between cities and ports to create transparency around data, progress, and technical learnings while launching breakthrough collaborations like new green shipping corridors between cities and ports or aligning on a common clean fuel source.

This type of approach that leverages ambitious climate goals with cross-sector and global collaboration has been effective in signaling change in other industries. For example, the Ocean Panel set targets and common goals between diverse nations to protect the ocean. Electric transit buses and school buses gained momentum using a systems-wide approach that engaged fleets, communities, energy providers, manufacturers and policymakers.

Now, more than ever, ambitious climate action is necessary across the transportation sector and beyond. Ports present an opportunity to not only bolster climate action but also provide clear wins for human and ocean health while supporting global and local economies and sustainable growth.

At a time when geopolitical shifts and a changing global economic outlook are stalling national climate ambitions and commitments, putting sustainable development at risk, decarbonizing ports offers a scalable and actionable opportunity to tackle climate change, address health risks and promote sustainable development.