LA PAZ, Mexico, July 1 (IPS) – The port of Pichilingue, in northwestern Mexico, like other maritime infrastructure in the country, is facing challenges in decarbonising its operations amid rising polluting emissions.
The port, on the Pacific coast, has docks for ferries and merchant ships, and provides services such as drinking water, food, fuel, electricity and waste collection, for ships arriving from other parts of Mexico, the United States and Asia.
The facility, owned by the Administración Portuaria Integral (API) of Baja California Sur, a peninsular state in the northwestern corner of the country, is being expanded to handle more ships, passengers and cargo, like other Mexican ports along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
La Paz, the state capital, is also under pressure to control its port operations, so the regional API is moving to Pichilingue what it can no longer do in La Paz, such as cruise ship arrivals. The location also facilitates integration into a northwestern circuit in transportation between Mexico and the contiguous United States.
The environmental situation of the ports requires action, while Mexico is still barely on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities and which cause global warming.
Experts consulted by IPS acknowledged that progress has been made in curbing emissions, but warned of the need to develop a comprehensive policy that also includes ports and maritime transport.
“Small efforts are being made in the right direction. There are initial actions that can help, such as energy efficiency measures and replacing light bulbs. But a port cannot be separated from shipping,” says Kristina Abhold, an expert at the non-governmental organization. Global Maritime ForumIPS told a port forum in La Paz.
The 36 ports of the 17 administrations of the National port systemmanaged by the Department of the Navy (Semar) emitted 1.33 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent in 2022, almost double the 2021 level.
This is detailed in Semar’s Port Decarbonisation Strategy, which IPS obtained through a public information request and which only has consolidated data up to that year.
More ships, more CO2
Since then, Mexico’s maritime trade has grown, and likely so have greenhouse gas emissions.
Emissions from its customers’ activities, known as Scope 3 (A3), doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year.
The Greenhouse gas protocol standards, the most widely used in the world, classify emissions that come from the energy an industry uses (A1) and from the energy it buys from others (A2).
A1 emissions increased by 38%, while A2 emissions increased by 12%.
In terms of cargo, the port of Manzanillo, located in the western state of Colima, the largest in the country and leader in container traffic, received the most between January and April this year and released 30% more emissions into the atmosphere in 2022.
The measurements cover the activities of cargo ships, vessels moored in port, cargo handling equipment, locomotives and trucks, as well as the operation of terminals, operators, service providers, shipping companies, freight forwarders, customs agents and road and rail transport companies.
Port sustainability takes into account environmental, economic and social aspects such as pollution, dredging of nearby areas, return on investment and job creation.
Shipping represents the second mode of transport for foreign trade in Mexico. The National Port System, with 103 ports, handled 90.86 million tons of cargo in the first four months of this year, almost 3% less than in the same period of 2023.
According to Tania Miranda, director of the Environment and Climate Change Programme of the non-governmental Institute for the Americas (IOA), the steps taken are still in their infancy.
“We are still in the early stages. It is a process that has been going on for a short time in one of the industries that is most behind in the process, and it is a difficult sector to do this. Investing in these types of projects has been difficult,” she says from the American city of San Diego, which is on the northern border of Mexico.
However, efforts have been made over the past two years, progress has been made in inventories and investments have been made in the digitalisation of operations, which can lead to a reduction in emissions, she stressed.
Beginners
The largest Mexican ports have been taken environmental measuresbut they are insufficient to address the problem.
Manzanillo And Ensenadathe fifth largest port but the second busiestbased in Baja California and a logistics hub between Asia and the United States, it has masterport development programs that do not mention environmental impact.
Furthermore, no Mexican – or Latin American – port appears on the project map Sustainability program for world ports which includes the largest such facilities in the world. The country also does not have a clean marine fuel refining project.
For Carlos Martner, coordinator of Integrated Transport and Logistics of the government Mexican Institute of Transportsome ports, especially the larger ones, have made more progress.
“The problem is getting bigger and there will be more and more demand to improve processes. But a comprehensive policy that includes the ports is needed,” he told IPS in La Paz.
The national strategy foresees a reduction of emissions by 25% by 2030 and by 45% by 2050, but only proposes general measures such as planning resilient infrastructure, harmonizing management and planning tools such as concession titles, master development programs and operating rules, as well as identifying, describing and programming the implementation of low-emissions energy policies.
Semar has also identified and will implement measures such as the development of green shipping corridors, energy efficiency, resilient infrastructure planning and optimization of traceability and waste handling.
However, Mexico has not joined the Clydebank Declaration for Green Shipping Corridors in November 2021 at the Glasgow Climate Summit, which aims to create at least six low-emissions corridors by 2025 and has only been signed by 24 countries.
Mexico must also meet the objectives of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce CO2 emissions from all international shipping by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 2008 levels.
The IMO also states that the use of zero- or near-zero-emission energy sources, fuels and/or technologies will account for 5%, with a target of 10%, of the energy consumption of international shipping by 2030.
Abhold, from the Global Maritime Forum, suggested electric sailing to reduce emissions. “This decarbonises both sides of the chain and a port tariff with externalities can be imposed, as other ports do. But a comprehensive policy with clear targets is needed. There is a lack of government signals and incentives,” she stressed.
IOA’s Miranda said substantial investment and coordination between government agencies in the sector at all port levels is necessary.
“The document in itself will achieve nothing. There are legal, tax and operational issues. I would like to see transversality with the treasury, the environmental sector. Without involving ships, Mexico’s progress will be very poor. There is a dissociation between the ports and management and maritime transport,” she emphasizes.
Expert Martner predicted that there would be international pressure to create green shipping corridors.
“They can be developed in the ports that border the United States. Cruise ships, for example, can sail through that route. There is a lot of pressure there to improve water quality, emissions and waste management. It is a long road, but action has already been taken,” he said.
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
