The value of AI in reducing the impact of often overlooked but enormously significant indirect Scope 3 emissions in ports will be put firmly in the spotlight at Coastlink 2027 thanks to speaker Sjoerd de Jager.
As CEO and co-founder of PortXchange, a Rotterdam-based company focusing on digital solutions for sustainable port operations, de Jager highlights the fact that Scope 3 emissions can account for over 90% of a port’s carbon footprint
Generated by ships at anchor, trucks queuing at port gates, and broader logistics flows including business travel and employee commuting, these indirect emissions create the “carbon giant” that must be addressed to achieve meaningful decarbonization.
As he argues in the outline of his keynote contribution: “The first step is transparency: ports cannot manage what they do not measure. By leveraging advanced digital platforms, ports can turn fragmented operational data, AIS signals, fuel profiles, and logistics flows into credible Scope 3 accounting.”
And he added: “When stakeholders share live data, idle time decreases, congestion eases, and emissions fall. In Algeciras, for example, AI-enabled coordination reduced idle time by 40%, saving 33 tonnes of CO₂ per call.
“AI’s real value lies not in hype but in practical application. Machine learning can predict vessel arrival times, optimise gate flows, and identify emissions hotspots. This transforms data into actionable insights, empowering ports to act pre-emptively rather than reactively.”
The 25th edition of Coastlink is being held 14-15 April 2027 in Rotterdam. To share in the insights which will be on offer, please contact the team at info@coastlink.co.uk
