Ports’ Approaches to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Case Study of The Northwest Seaport Alliance

Abstract

Today, marine transportation substantially contributes to the global economy by carrying approximately 90% of the goods worldwide. It is also one of the fastest-growing sectors in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The main polluters of the industry are shipping vessels, but the transboundary nature of the shipping operations makes it challenging to regulate related GHG emissions. As a key node of maritime operations, ports’ potential to mitigate GHG emission has gained increased attention from the general public in the last decades, but global regulations remain absent. Therefore, ports address local, state, and federal social and regulatory pressures while adapting to the rapid changes in the industry. To explain the factors influencing ports’ approaches to reducing GHG emissions, we conducted a descriptive case study of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) based on publicly available documents. We found that carbon intensity of the port electricity, availability of external funding, possible cargo diversion due to the imposed environmental standards, the existence of regulatory support, GHG emissions related developments in regions where competitor ports are located, and utilization of the concession agreement with the port users are the primary factors that affect the NWSA’s GHG reduction approaches.