Port of LA Wins Global Environmental Award
Port of Los Angeles recognized for emissions reductions, international collaborative efforts.
The Port of Los Angeles has received a Lloyd’s List Global Award in the Environment category, an honor recognizing the Port’s environmental leadership in adopting and promoting programs that reduce emissions from maritime sources.
The award highlighted several of the Port’s green initiatives and leadership efforts at both the regional and international level, including the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP). Initiated in 2006, the CAAP established control measures for port-related ships, trains, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft, and ties these measures to specific emissions reduction goals. Two notable CAAP programs are the Clean Truck Program and the Vessel Speed Reduction Incentive Program which have significantly contributed to emission reductions in and around the Port.
The Port was also honored for its international collaborative efforts to reduce maritime emissions, including its role in creating the Pacific Ports Clean Air Collaborative (PPCAC), a group of ports, shipping operators, cargo owners, and other stakeholders along the Pacific Rim committed to economic growth in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. In February 2012, the Port hosted the 2012 PPCAC conference with the theme of “Challenges for a Sustainable Future,” which brought together members from all over the world to exchange ideas for reducing air emissions.
The Port’s role in a new Environmental Ship Index (ESI) program was also noted. The Port is the first port in North America to commit to the ESI, an international clean ship incentive program developed within the World Ports Climate Initiative, of which the port is a founding member. Operators that visit the Port earn an ESI financial incentive by participating in the program and by using cleaner technology and practices that reduce emissions beyond international regulatory requirements. In addition, the Port plans to provide additional incentives to ships with Tier 2 and 3 engines and ships that participate in TAP demonstrations.