Abstract
Ocean-borne commerce has been steadily increasing through the last two decades and is expected to continue to play a significant role in the globalizing world economy. Container traffic at some of the largest ports is growing at a remarkable rate. Approximately two thirds of the container traffic in 2004 was related to Asian ports, with the eight largest Chinese ports accounting for over a quarter of world container traffic. Pollutant emissions from ships contribute significantly to local and regional air quality problems and result in severe public health impacts. Existing technology could provide dramatic improvements in the environmental performance of ships.
Top Ten Ports by Container Volume in 2004
|
RANK
|
PORT
|
COUNTRY
|
VOLUME
(1,000 TEUS)
|
|
1
|
Hong Kong
|
China
|
42,600
|
|
2
|
Singapore
|
Singapore
|
31,000
|
|
3
|
Busan
|
South Korea
|
17,700
|
|
4
|
Kaohsiung
|
Taiwan
|
16,500
|
|
5
|
Rotterdam
|
Netherlands
|
13,100
|
|
6
|
Los Angeles/Long Beach
|
United States
|
11,800
|
|
7
|
Shanghai
|
China
|
9,900
|
|
8
|
Port Klang
|
Malaysia
|
9,900
|
|
9
|
Yantian
|
China
|
9,700
|
|
10
|
Hamburg
|
Germany
|
9,300
|
Source: MARAD, 2005
This paper discusses the possible market-based measures, legal challenges and regulatory opportunities to reduce the impact of marine vessels on local and global air quality. Section II presents this sector’s impact on air pollution locally and globally. Section III focuses on the most promising emission control technologies, market-based and regulatory measures, and the ongoing efforts in individual regions (e.g. the Pacific Rim) the European Union, and the IMO. The report concludes in Section IV with a series of recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders based on the report findings, including a global clean ports initiative.
Presentation: http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/docs/SP10_1.ppt
Marine, Emissions, Ports |
