The World Ports Climate Action Program is a collaboration between the port authorities of Hamburg, Barcelona, Antwerp, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Vancouver and Rotterdam. The ports will work on a number of projects to reduce direct emissions produced by port activity, as well as emissions from the wider sector.

Allard Castelein, president and chief executive officer of the Port of Rotterdam, said reducing emissions from sector was “vital” to achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting global temperature.

“The Paris Agreement has set a clear target: we need to limit global warming to well below 2C. It is vital in this context to reduce the emissions generated by maritime transport,” he said.

“As critical hubs in the global maritime transport network, I am convinced that ports can make a significant contribution. I am pleased to see that international port authorities have taken on a leading role in this area, committing to collaborative projects that can further advance the decarbonization of the maritime transport sector.”

As part of the program, the ports have agreed to focus on five specific actions:

• Accelerating efforts to fully decarbonise cargo-handling facilities
• Increasing the efficiency of supply chains using digital tools
• Promoting common policy approaches to reducing emissions across large geographical areas
• Accelerating the development of renewable shore-to-ship power
• Accelerating the development of commercial viable low-carbon fuels and the development of infrastructure for electric ships

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