Ports for People Applauds Los Angeles and Tokyo, Yokohama Green Shipping Corridors

The Port of Los Angeles has entered into separate Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with the Port of Tokyo and the Port of Yokohama to formalize their collaboration on sustainability and environmental issues at the ports. The MOUs were finalized during the 2023 California Japan Clean Energy Trade Mission.

According to the Port of Los Angeles’ press release, the ports of Tokyo and Yokohama also agreed to establish a Green Shipping Corridor (GSC) partnership with the Port of Los Angeles in the coming year, an initiative aimed at reducing emissions along their respective trade routes and promoting low- and zero-carbon ships and fuels. The Port of Los Angeles has already established GSC partnerships with the ports of Shanghai and Singapore.

Additional specific areas of cooperation identified under the two agreements include the testing and deployment of zero-emission vehicles, cargo handling equipment and vessels; exploring energy use and alternative energy sources; and cooperating on initiatives related to pollution-reduction technologies for terminals, ocean-going vessels and drayage trucks.

Statement from Allyson Browne, Climate Campaign Manager for Ports, Pacific Environment:

“We applaud the collaboration between the Port of Los Angeles and Japanese Ports of Tokyo and Yokohama, and we urge these ports to focus on mandatory enforcement of the green shipping corridors, with interim targets to peak shipping emissions by 2025 and halve shipping emissions by 2030, in order to achieve 100% zero-emission shipping by 2040.

These targets align with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) recommendations to mitigate global warming from hitting our 1.5 degrees Celsius planetary limitation. We look forward to supporting the ports in achieving these goals, decarbonizing the transpacific trade route, and transforming their port communities from hotspots of fossil fuel pollution to thriving hubs of sustainable economic development and environmental protection.”
Source: Pacific Environment