Let’s backtrack a bit and reference two interesting reports that came out a few months ago.

The first is the Annual Progress Report on Green Shipping Corridors from the Global Maritime Forum, which documents developments up to November 2022. The report describes itself as “a checkpoint for what has already become a movement.” Specifically, it evaluates:

  • The size, nature, and performance of global green corridor initiatives;
  • The amount and nature of national policy and regulation emerging to support these initiatives; and
  • The overall momentum behind the movement.

It further states, “In the year since the signing of the Clydebank Declaration, 21 initiatives have emerged around the world. More than 110 stakeholders from across the value chain are engaged in these initiatives, and a significant level of public-private collaboration can be seen.”

Quantifying this, it identifies over 20 corridor initiatives, 12 short-sea, seven deep-sea and two, at the time, which remained to be confirmed. The individual projects are identified with the qualification that: “The vast majority of these initiatives remain at an early stage. Only a handful have advanced far enough to begin feasibility assessments or implementation planning.”

Among other coverage, the report goes on to offer “…seven recommendations to support accelerated and green corridors.”

In all, the report provides four main working chapters: “Where do we need to be; Where are we now, Overview of progress and Recommendations. It can be downloaded, free of charge.

The second report worthy of note is the: Act Now or Pay Later: The Costs of Climate Inaction for Ports and Shipping from New York-based RTI International.

This report was actually published in March 2022 but I bring it to your attention now a/ as it has just crossed my path and b/ I think it provides a very good summary not only of the range of climate related challenges ports can face but also of the practical steps that can be taken to mitigate these. It also provides some insight into potential costs and particularly related to what it calls “hard strategies; required structural changes which it defines in three categories, namely, “elevate, defend and retreat.”

Act Now or Pay Later: The Costs of Climate Inaction for Ports and Shipping is a comprehensive work comprising eight main chapters. Like the previous report discussed, it is a highly recommended read and can be downloaded free of charge.

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