Friday 9 October saw the conclusion of the three day GreenPort Congress 2015 with delegates enjoying a tour of the Ports of Copenhagen and Malmö
DAY ONE:
Opening the Congress, moderator and GreenPort founder Patrick Hicks said:
“We are fortunate to be living in a period of extraordinary change, at a time where the port industry is growing rapidly in hand with increasing awareness of social, economic and of course environmental sustainability”.
Johan Röstin, CEO of Copenhagen Malmö Port, host of the congress this year, talked about integration of the port with the European centre of logistics.
On the Malmö side, the port has a 2030 vision, with everything-logistics, loading and pre-clearance – available within 15 minutes. On the Danish side it is investigating how to build a new container terminal. Last year it inaugurated a new three-birth cruise terminal and by 2030 the port will have new road infrastructure connecting new port areas to the city – as well as a new metro system.
Global versus regional regulations
During the first session, Patrick Verhoeven, secretary general of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), introduced a broad session discussing the impact of recently introduced sulphur regulations and what has been learned both by regulators and industry operators.
He noted that there is room for a forum bringing together both ports and shipping companies in this area with the two sides facing the problems together.
On the interplay of global versus regional regulation, Olaf Merk, from the International Transport Forum, highlighted the need for cooperation, first at a local level, when regulations such as the sulphur directive are introduced and where ports have an essential ‘stage director’ role to play. On a global level, he asserted the need for a regular stakeholder conference not just for green issues, but on all issues affecting the supply chain.
Changing expectations
During session two, Dr Antonis Michail, senior policy advisor at ESPO, began the session with a presentation on the common challenges facing ports.
“Priorities evolve and not all are relevant to each port,” he said. “We cannot say that a green port is one that addresses air quality, for example, if it is not a priority for that port. So we need to take a broader approach.”
“A green port is one that has a systematic approach, measures its environmental progress and sets ambitious targets towards continuous improvement,” he said.
Working groups
The working groups at the end of the first day covered fuel options for SECA Compliance, port reception facilities and improving efficiency in terminal operations.
DAY TWO:
After a successful first day, the second day of the GreenPort Congress kicked off with a focus on port-city relationships, moderated by Professor Daniel Moon of the World Maritime University.
Port city relationships
Olaf Merk of the OECD – author of several of the organisation’s publications on ports – discussed the need for port-city cooperation in greening ports.
Mr Merk is part of the OECD’s think-tank on shipping, the International Transport Forum. It publishes policy relevant research for governments and has 57 member states.
“Collaboration is needed,” he said. “That’s because of the impact, the instruments and the implementation of green initiatives.”
These instruments, he said, include information about the problem and taking inventories. Incentives can reward good behaviour and punish bad behaviour, something that many port policies already take account of, in speed and emission limits, for example.
Regulations are another rock solid instrument and infrastructure upgrades also play a role in greening ports.
Ports need to become stage directors in bringing together multiple interests towards a win-win situation he said. “I think it is time to move beyond the silo approach and start to think about port-city cooperation and this will inevitably help in the greening of ports,” he concluded.
Inland logistics
The second session of the day focused on logistics, multimodal solution and traffic management.
Rosa Mari Darbra, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and Chris Wooldridge, Cardiff University, made a joint contribution using findings from their researchers Xavier Segui and Marti Puig.
Mr Wooldridge said: “We sometimes forget that inland ports are highly significant to the debate about the corridor. I wonder if they are a special case in environmental management.
“The port sector is judged by the worst-performing ports. If the port sector demonstrates on a voluntary basis that there is no need for regulation, regulators would step back – and that’s what has happened with the development of Ecoports.”
Working groups
GreenPort sat in on the work group on port-city cooperation in sustainability initiatives, starting with a case study from the Port of Oslo. Heidi Neilson, Head of Environment, Port of Oslo, and Thanh Nguyen, CEO, PortsEYE, were the first to take the podium.
They said that Oslo city undertook an air quality assessment in cooperation with the port last year. Ms Neilson said that 50,000 deaths were caused by air pollution in Oslo over the last ten years and air quality is rising on the port agenda.
The resulting inventory covered NOx, PM, SO2 and CO2 emissions and showed that the Port of Oslo accounts for 9% of NOx air emissions in Oslo. Road traffic accounts for 82%.
Of port emissions, ferries represent 35% of emissions and cruise 22%. Containers accounted for only 8% of port emissions, while shore activities account for another 8%.
“So you can see where you need to focus your efforts and also where you will get the most cost benefit,” she added.
Chris Wooldridge concluded this year’s GreenPort Congress, thanking Copenhagen Malmö Port for being this year’s host. Thanks also go to our sponsors and supporters and of course all of this year’s delegates.
The full report of GreenPort Congress and Cruise 2015 will be published in the winter issue of GreenPort magazine.
In the origin, I was outspoken with you propecia before and after has changed my being. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is fabulous to sit.