The Port of Long Beach and its partners signed a memorandum to collaborate on decarbonising ocean trade in the Pacific Rim.
The Port of Long Beach, Shenzhen Port Group, Hutchison Ports YANTIAN, South Coast Air Quality Management District and the North American Representative Office of Shenzhen have signed a memorandum of cooperation to collaborate on decarbonising ocean trade and inspire other similar efforts to build a green maritime economy around the Pacific Rim.
Representatives for the parties signed the memorandum in Shenzhen, China, on 22 September. The memorandum establishes a framework to support the coordination of technical exchanges and programs, initiate shared efforts to deploy clean technologies, promote sustainable infrastructure development within the maritime industry and promote economic development prioritising sustainability and public health.
Potential collaborations may include maritime technology demonstration projects, programs to attract cleaner oceangoing vessels, and information exchanges conducted through virtual meetings and regional workshops.
The memorandum will also explore the possibility of a Sister Ports Agreement between the Port of Long Beach, the second-busiest seaport in the United States, which handled 8m TEU in 2023, and YANTIAN, which is one of the world’s largest container terminals run by a single operator.
“One of the most important parts of strategic partnerships like this is the ability to target shipborne emissions, a source we have little power to regulate as a local port authority,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “We see the potential for this agreement to make fleets cleaner sooner. The technologies and practices we develop through this agreement also have the potential to have a positive impact on the environment and economies far beyond our two ports and cities.”
Together with the neighbouring Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach created 2006 the Clean Air Action Plan — a comprehensive strategy to tackle every source of port-related air pollution.
South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. As the primary gateway to the U.S. for cross-Pacific trade, the region is home to a robust goods movement industry. However, this goods movement activity also contributes to about half of local air pollution.
Given the challenge of reducing local emissions from ships that travel internationally, South Coast AQMD has been pursuing cross-Pacific cooperation for several years through its Pacific Rim Initiative for Maritime Emission Reductions (PRIMER). This agreement grew from that initiative and was facilitated greatly by the diligent work of the North American Representative Office of Shenzhen.
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