The Long Beach City Council unanimously passed a Ship It Zero Resolution 8-0, after the city attorney recommended that the council approve the resolution. The resolution took effect immediately upon its adoption by the Long Beach City Council.
Emission Reducing Technologies
This resolution unites the city councils governing the nation’s largest ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach – and the largest seaport complex in the Western Hemisphere – in calling on top maritime importers to adopt existing emissions-reducing technologies and take steps toward making port calls to the San Pedro Port Complex on zero-carbon ships by 2030.
As explained, the international ocean shipping industry’s pollution is on the rise and is expected to comprise 17% of global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 without urgent action. As home to the largest port in the nation, Los Angeles County receives 40% of all containerized cargo imports to the United States coming through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, making the surrounding communities – which are primarily working-class Black and Brown communities – particularly vulnerable to deadly pollutants.
Shipping’s Pollution Problem
The global shipping industry accounts for 3% of global climate emissions, more than global air travel. If shipping were a country, it would be the world’s sixth largest climate polluter. But since maritime shipping negotiated itself out of the U.N. Paris Agreement, the effort to reduce emissions in the industry has been slower than in other sectors. Approximately 90% of the world trade is transported by sea, and current business-as-usual scenarios project emissions will grow up to 50% over 2018 levels.
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Source: Safety4sea
