Port of Los Angeles hosts clean air collaborative

The two-day Pacific Ports Clean Air Collaborative conference was hosted by the Port of Los Angeles in collaboration with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the US-China Green Ports and Vessels Initiative.

“Information sharing and continued dialogue among ports globally has been key to finding sustainable solutions that both protect the environment and allow for steady economic growth,” said Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles.

“When ports work together, we maximise environmental outcomes far beyond what can be accomplished by any single entity.”

Clean Air Collaborative

The mission of the Pacific Ports Clean Air Collaborative is to share information among trade partners, collaborate on common air and environmental issues and evaluate potential mitigation measures and solutions.

Themed “Policies, Technologies and New Opportunities,” this year’s conference was the fifth time the Collaborative has met since 2006, the third time in Los Angeles.

Conference panels covered a wide range of topics, from air emission planning to control, compliance and fuel usage, to specific solutions and incentives for reducing at-berth ship emissions.

Representatives from the Port of Los Angeles, Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission, the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China and MAERSK presented recent findings on the link between improvements in port operational efficiencies and reductions in air pollution.

Marine ecosystems, noise impacts and mitigation, as well as current and emerging zero-emission technologies were also among topics covered over the two-day event.

The Pacific Ports Clean Air Collaborative was founded in 2006 by the Ports of Los Angeles and Shanghai, China together with the US EPA and the US Maritime Administration.