During the 15th ESPO conference, the CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Allard Castelein, called the European Union to increase its investments in the infrastructure of ports and hinterland connections. This will further enhance Europe’s economy and competitive position.
Namely, Mr. Castelein called for more financial resources for infrastructure investments in EU’s upcoming long-term budget. He also focused in the expansion of the Connecting European Facility (CEF) to include European energy transition projects. This project will make sure that ports remain future-proof, healthy and competitive.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
A port is only as strong as its hinterland connections. Solid infrastructure connections to and from ports and port-industrial complexes are of crucial importance for European prosperity and employment.
Moreover, Allard Castelein outlined the challenges in geopolitics, digitalisation and the energy transition. He noted that in order to achieve the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, ports have to take their responsibility and show leadership.
For this to happen, sustainability as well as energy transition must be priorities. These along with collaboration with EU and local authorities will offer support and constructive policies.
For a true, systemic change, we need to do more. In this major transition, we are completely dependent on each other. No organisation can realise the energy transition on its own. It requires us to all put sustainability high on the agenda.