WASHINGTON: Green cruising, alternative fuels, climate change, sustainable port development and incentive schemes were all hot topics at the GreenPort Congress hosted by the Venice Port Authority in Italy last week. Almost 180 delegates from more than 30 countries attended the 11th GreenPort Congress from 12-14 October. Brian Simpson, European coordinator for the Motorways of the Sea, used his keynote to highlight that the environment should be at the forefront of all business strategies.
This sentiment was echoed by Isabelle Ryckbost, secretary general at the European Sea Port Organization (ESPO), who said climate change should be top of the agenda for ports. Session one focused on concerns about LNG’s viability as an alternative fuel, particularly why the industry is investing in LNG as a fuel for ships that will be built for even lower emissions targets in the future. Attendees also discussed concerns around the expense of developing LNG infrastructures in ports and other fuel options, such as methanol, nuclear and wind power.
This was followed by a session centred on climate change and the Paris Agreement, which requires organisations to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from November. Talks covered the work of PIANC’s Think Climate coalition, a group of international organisations working together to try and harmonise carbon accounting across the sector.
“We need to improve resilience,” said Jan Brooke, environmental consultant. “Climate change will affect both new and existing port infrastructure. The Paris agreement is a wake-up call, everyone has to do their bit to reduce emissions, ports are vulnerable.” Sustainable port development was the focus of the third session. ABB’s global application technology manager Luca Imperiali gave a talk on ‘Shore-to-ship Power for LNG-to-Power’. He said: “Shore-to-ship power is one of many tools that can be used to improve efficiency and the green footprint of a port.”
Meanwhile, Cavotec’s group marketing and business development manager Lorene Grandidier highlighted the benefits of use electrification in ports to reduce emissions and ensure compliance. GreenPort closed with a session on port incentive schemes, which attracted scepticism from delegates.
