Discounts drive environmental accountability

During 2020, the 14 terminals of the Port of Barcelona that are eligible for environmental discounts invested upwards of €1.7m in projects aimed at decarbonising port operations, reducing emissions, generating renewable energy and starting energy transformation.

In response to these initiatives, the Port of Barcelona, which aims to become a carbon-neutral port by 2050, subsidised these terminals with nearly €900,000 in discounts in 2020. Discounts in 2019 totalled €886,000 while investments made by the terminals amounted to €1.6m.

“The Port encourages the terminals to make environmental investments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through measures to improve energy saving or energy efficiency, generating renewable energy with photovoltaic panels or fostering electric mobility,” explained Mercè Conesa, president of the Port of Barcelona.

Significant impact

Environmental discounts represent between 15 and 20% of the activity rate of each terminal. 50% of the 14 terminals under the scheme are expected to invest in rooftop photovoltaic electrical generation in 2021, noted Jordi Vila, head of the environment of the Port of Barcelona.

The port also offers discounts to shipowners to promote improvements in vessels in terms of efficiency, the use of natural gas and batteries, and reducing atmospheric emissions. The annual discounts applied by the Port of Barcelona amount, on average, to around €2.3m.

Barcelona was the first port in the Spanish port system to start applying discounts to ships using LNG and is currently the only port in Spain to apply discounts to cruise ships for reducing NOx emissions.