Measuring emissions is an urgent first step for ports seeking to work towards decarbonisation. Emissions at ports come from a multitude of equipment and vehicles, including cranes, ships, boats, and machinery involved in loading and unloading cargo. Accurately quantifying these emissions through monitoring establishes ports’ unique emissions profiles amidst varying infrastructure and ownership models. This enables the development of customised emissions reduction plans and strategies, which can support environmental policies and help ports comply with carbon tax laws.
While industry-wide strategies can offer valuable lessons, each port’s individual situation informs its bespoke journey to decarbonisation, which requires a careful assessment of its emissions profile. As reputational and regulatory pressures mount, detecting emission sources is an essential first stop on ports’ urgent sustainability journeys.
The old saying “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” rings very true in this situation. It’s nearly impossible to make progress on port decarbonisation without knowing where emissions are being generated. The first step is to identify which sources are the biggest culprits. Then a port can explore whether any of these can be easily reduced. Other questions to consider include: Do we have the right infrastructure in place to implement tools to target these sources? If not, where does the infrastructure need upgrading? Measuring emissions and detecting the largest contributors allows a port operator to see what they are doing well in terms of sustainability and identify areas that need to work in regard to reducing their emissions output.
Sharing data on where emissions come from and how effective different strategies are at reducing them can also help other ports. Knowledge and data-sharing can provide valuable insights for other ports looking to reduce their emissions. However, it is important to note that while decarbonisation case studies can be valuable learning tools, each port requires a customised approach for achieving decarbonisation because the unique set of cargo, activities, and infrastructure present in each port will impact what the most effective reduction strategies will be for that port.
Port ownership and its history will also affect the operations and infrastructural changes that can take place. In the UK, the Port of Shoreham and the Port of London provide good examples of this. While they are located only 70 miles apart, their operations are very different. Shoreham for instance houses a tenant community, made up of around 175 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to major multinational industries. It handles around 2 million tonnes of cargo every year. In contrast, the Port of London handles over 50 million tonnes of cargo each year and comprises over 70 independently owned and operated terminals and port facilities. This makes the case for detecting and tracking emissions sources critical to targeting the right areas. To build a tailored strategy, a baseline of current emissions and port performance is required. Emissions reduction targets can then be set in place, helping port operators to see how far they have to go before they can get to where they want to be.
Detecting and reporting on emissions is also important for securing both public and industry stakeholder support. The public is becoming more aware of the urgency to decarbonise transport sectors and has increased pressure on organisations to operate with greater transparency. However, a 2021 study found that few ports provide publicly available emissions reporting data. Ports are also required to measure their emissions for carbon tax requirements. This includes sources such as docked ships, terminal equipment, or infrastructure. Ports must collect, verify, and submit their emissions data and will be taxed on the results.
The aim is to encourage port authorities, shipping companies, and other stakeholders to adopt greener practices. These include the use of low or zero-emission fuels in port equipment, installing shore power, or facilitating just-in-time arrivals.
For a more in-depth understanding of the topics covered in this article, refer to our latest report in partnership with Ericsson, Getting Ports to Net Zero. This comprehensive guide provides an introduction to port emissions reduction and why advanced networks such as 5G must be considered as part of the journey to net zero.
