The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will hold a joint community workshop on January 24 to gather input on strategies released late last year to update the Clean Air Action Plan, or CAAP.
The community workshop will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, January 24, at Banning’s Landing Community Center, 100 E. Water St. in Wilmington and the workshop is open to the public.
In November 2016, Harbor Commissioners from both ports met to unveil the draft CAAP 2017 Discussion Document, which details proposed new strategies to further clean the air and reduce greenhouse gases. Strategies include aggressively deploying zero and near-zero emission trucks and cargo-handling equipment and expanding programs that reduce ship emissions.
The CAAP was adopted in 2006 and has dramatically reduced pollution from maritime-related sources that operate in and around the ports. Programs implemented under the CAAP have reduced diesel particulate matter up to 84%, cut nitrogen oxides in half, eliminated 97% of sulfur oxides and lowered greenhouse gases an average of 12%, all while container volume has increased by 7%. This will mark the first time the plan has been updated since 2010.
The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach are the two largest ports in the nation, first and second respectively, and combined are the ninth-largest port complex in the world. The two ports handle approximately 40% of the nation’s total containerised import traffic and 25% of its total exports. The fact that both ports have continued to adhere to environmental policies and set green precedents is certainly something to be proud of. Global shipping and port operations are often berated for emissions and environmental impact, but these two ports demonstrate that green initiatives and directions are achievable.
In related news, the Port of Long Beach recently announced that they were seeking public opinion on the sustainable redevelopment plans for an existing railyard.
