Green Ports: Why They Matter for the Future

We all know that sea routes are the oldest medium of trade that has existed since forever. Even back in ancient times, land routes developed later. Towns developed around the ports, and more people settled near them. Fast forward to current times, and yes, they’re still flourishing and still serving the country’s economy. But we all know that there are two sides to a coin, so we are all aware of the advantages, but what about the disadvantages?

As much as ports are beneficial to a country’s economy, they can cause damage to the environment. The damages done by them can be grouped into 3 different categories

  • problems caused by activities held on the port itself
  • problems at sea caused by sea ships calling at the port, meaning the area where a vessel loads or unloads cargo
  • emissions from the freight on inter-modal networks that serve the port hinterland

Modern problems require modern solutions, to deal with this not-so-modern problem, we’ve Science and its miracles are the answer to any modern problem, So the solution to traditional ports and related environmental problems is green ports.

The fresh concept of reducing the risk of degrading environmental health

A Green Port encourages activities that are positive for environmental health through and through. Green Shipping reduces the environmental damage done by traditional ports by reducing the GHGs and pollutants released by ships.

Green shipping can include various ways, be it pollution monitoring techniques, the dust suppression system, or many more newly developed techniques, to ensure a healthy environment.

Recently in India, the Union Ministry of Ports and Shipping announced India’s first National Center of Excellence for Green Port and Shipping (NCoEGPS) to ensure one more step towards a greener environment. The government fosters the idea of carbon neutrality and a circular economy, as said by the Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways. Green ports will help to achieve the target to reduce carbon emissions by thirty percent and to increase the share of renewable energy by sixty percent. India has also been selected as the first country under the IMO Green Voyage 2050 project to conduct a pilot project related to green shipping.

India will be implementing IMO energy efficiency requirements for existing ships, whether coastal or international, in order to help achieve IMO GHG reduction targets. To put it simply, IMO – is a global shipping regulation that aims to reduce emissions and promote energy efficiency in the sea freight industry.

Power generated by wind and solar energy will back the plan up. Green ports will further provide support to maintain the policies and frameworks for the alternative technologies in our country, to progress towards lesser carbon emissions, and, as mentioned above, the CE principles too.

The Wonders of Green Ports

These ports have a comparatively small carbon footprint, (a carbon footprint is the total amount of GHGs that are generated by our actions), and green ports reduce it on top of that, they’re sustainable too. Green ports make minimal environmental effects even after performing all the tasks.

The economic, social, and environmental dimensions of development activities get balanced by green ports too, whether it is to maximize the efficiency of resources or to increase productivity to its fullest, these kinds of ports can do it all.

Green ports also maintain strict environmental standards for limiting pollution on water, land, and air surfaces, they include strategies like climate change mitigation (avoiding and reducing the emission of GHGs in the atmosphere so the planet can be saved from reaching an extreme temperature.) and other adaptation strategies.

We can categorize the activities of green ports into two parts. 1. The activities are undertaken by ships berthing in port 2. Activities are undertaken by port administrations for providing services. Major role players in green ports include ship owners, ship operators, classification societies, etc.

The Future of Green Ports in India

As India introduces its first green port, we’ll see the main theme or objectives of what the coming future will bring for the Shipping and Port sector. The prime motive of the proposed NCoEGPS (National Center of Excellence for Green Port and Shipping) is to maintain a policy and framework for green alternatives for India and its transition to carbon neutrality and CE principles.

To achieve these objectives, NCoEGPS will focus on the main five areas:

  • Research, Regulation, and Policies
  • Human Resources and Development
  • Networking between Key Partners
  • Strategic Collaborators
  • Exploring Outcomes and Engagement

Also, it will empower ‘Make in India’ in Ports, Coastal and Inland Water transports also to provide fast-track innovations to provide the aptest solutions to the problems faced in this sector.

As green port utilizes renewable resources so it can be a problem related to the area available for the installation of solar panels hence, we need to look beyond the physical setup of things and we could buy ‘virtual green energy’.

We know that saving resources is not just a mere task, it’s an absolute need. Future generations and animal species should not suffer from our wrongdoings. The installation of green ports will help to curb pollution near the sea and port cities up to a certain extent. Green ports can give us a bigger and better future. So one can only hope that in the future too, the government will take more steps to build environmentally friendly ports which will cater to the need of the economy too.

23 thoughts on “Green Ports: Why They Matter for the Future”

    1. Avatar

      Oceanic pollution is the major catastrophe for our present and future. This article provides the solution to it by introducing the concept of green ports.

    1. Avatar

      Oceanic pollution is the major catastrophe for our present and future. This article provides the solution to it by introducing the concept of green ports.

  1. Avatar

    Green ports are the future of India we should take it serious Indian have large number of ports and if they will shift to green ports it will better for our environment

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