During a gathering of industry leaders at the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) Legislative Summit in Washington, Port of Long Beach (POLB) executive director Mario Cordero said that seaports have a duty to protect the communities they serve from air pollution associated with goods movement.
Speaking as the AAPA board of directors chairman, Cordero urged port authorities to commit to “environmental social governance” – developing policies to decarbonise and convert cargo-handling and drayage truck fleets to zero emissions.
“We must recognise that protecting the health of our neighbouring communities from harmful emissions due to port operations is a paramount responsibility,” stated Cordero.
Long Beach harbour commission president Steven Neal applauded Cordero for amplifying POLB’s Green Port philosophy at the international event.
“Although we’re always working on doing better, at the Port of Long Beach we’ve shown it’s possible to have both good jobs and environmental sustainability,” stated Neal, and went on to add, “Our diesel particulate emissions are down 90% since 2005, even while cargo has increased more than 20%, because of the landmark Green Port Policy and the Clean Air Action Plan.”
On 1 April, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles launched the clean truck fund rate, which will be collected from beneficial cargo owners to help fund and incentivise the changeover to cleaner trucks.
