Pacific Environment continues to advocate for moving international shipping and ports to zero emissions as part of the global response to the climate crisis. Shipping has a big role to play as it accounts for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and produces more than 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually.
While transitioning ships to cleaner fuels and electrifying port equipment and infrastructure are essential first steps, these measures alone are not enough. Electrifying ports reduces emissions at the port itself, but the greatest gains in addressing pollution and climate goals come when the electricity is generated from renewable energy rather than fossil fuels.
To make this transition possible, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2050 net-zero target, otherwise known as the Net-Zero Framework, must align with national climate commitments under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), local governments’ carbon neutrality strategies and regional energy transition policies. Ports are more than gateways linking international shipping with local communities — they can be reimagined as strategic hubs where renewable energy, electricity grids, logistics and industrial policy converge.
With this vision in mind, Pacific Environment co-hosted the GCoM Reporting and Coastal Cities Workshop in Busan on July 9-10, 2026, together with ICLEI Korea Office and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM). The workshop brought together local government officials, researchers from carbon neutrality support centers, central government representatives and maritime and port experts to explore how local climate action and policies can be better aligned with the goal of zero-emission ships and ports.
Connecting communities and ports through climate governance
Key takeaways from the conference include:
- Highlighting a need for an integrated system for managing climate budgets and implementation.
- Calling for a comprehensive plan that integrates energy supply and demand, industrial transformation and infrastructure development.
- Emphasizing multilevel governance and multi-stakeholder collaboration and a shared vision for local climate action with the goal of decarbonization for shipping and ports.
Participants from local governments and carbon neutrality support centers shared their experiences implementing local climate policies and discussed common challenges through facilitated group discussions. They agreed that the current approach — largely driven by fragmented projects and ministry-specific funding programs — has increased administrative burdens and highlighted the need for a more integrated system for managing climate budgets and implementation.
The discussions also underscored that achieving meaningful emissions reductions requires moving beyond individual projects toward comprehensive planning that integrates energy supply and demand, industrial transformation and infrastructure development. A key consensus emerged that ports and their surrounding industrial areas — where energy demand, logistics and manufacturing activities are concentrated — should be closely integrated into local governments’ carbon neutrality strategies.
The workshop also featured keynote presentations and case studies. Yoon Youngran, general manager of the ICLEI Korea Office, emphasized the importance of local climate action through multilevel governance and multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Kim Mikyoung, Republic of Korea country director of Pacific Environment, highlighted that accelerating renewable energy deployment in coastal regions and decarbonizing shipping and ports will require a shared vision among local governments, port authorities, national agencies and industry.
Advancing local carbon neutrality through ports and shipping
The coastal cities session featured presentations from Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), Pacific Environment and the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI). The session’s themes included ways that ports can address emissions, shared financial opportunities for decarbonization and touched upon cleaner fuels and renewable energy.
Ahn Hyojung, deputy director of the Climate, Environment and International Strategy Team at MOF, introduced Republic of Korea’s climate mitigation and adaptation policies in support of the country’s NDC target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 53-61% from 2018 levels. She also outlined measures designed to align the maritime sector with IMO regulations, including subsidies for constructing environmentally friendly vessels, acquisition tax incentives and green financing programs.
Representing Pacific Environment, Jo Hyunjin, shipping and ports associate, emphasized that ports are strategic hubs where renewable energy, maritime transport and industrial policy intersect. Using the Port of Busan as a case study, she demonstrated that despite significant progress in port electrification, the limited use of renewable electricity means that emissions are often shifted to the power sector rather than eliminated. She argued that ports should be recognized as strategic electricity demand centers and called for a governance framework involving the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), port authorities, local governments and the private sector.
Kim Sewon, research fellow at the Korea Maritime Institute, discussed how port redevelopment can support decarbonization by positioning ports as gateways for future clean fuels such as renewable hydrogen and ammonia. He highlighted the Energy Cluster Terminal at Gwangyang Port and the redevelopment of Yeosu’s Myodo Port as notable examples of integrating renewable energy infrastructure into port redevelopment projects.
Carbon-neutral port with clean energy: a strategic opportunity for Busan’s future
The Busan workshop demonstrated how national climate commitments under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the principal global treaty to coordinate international responses to climate change, and the IMO’s maritime Net-Zero Framework can reinforce one another through coordinated action at the local level.
Participants recognized that ports and their surrounding industrial areas represent the critical intersection between these two policy frameworks. They also concluded that achieving carbon neutrality will require port authorities and coastal local governments — who share responsibility for planning and managing these areas — to develop a joint roadmap for regional energy transition and port decarbonization.
As Busan seeks to strengthen its position as a global maritime hub, supported by Busan Port — home to the world’s second-largest transshipment port — its ports should no longer be viewed simply as isolated logistics facilities. Instead, they should be recognized as strategic engines of regional development where logistics, people, energy infrastructure and future industries converge.
To realize this vision, participants identified several priority actions:
- Include Busan Port within Korea’s Distributed Energy Special Zone framework to accelerate renewable energy deployment.
- Establish the legal and institutional framework that enables port authorities to directly procure and supply renewable electricity.
- Gradually expand mandatory use of shore power, at the Port of Busan through coordinated action among government agencies, port authorities, industry and local stakeholders.
Pacific Environment will continue working with local governments, port authorities, national governments, civil society organizations and industry partners to ensure that regional energy transition drives the decarbonization of international shipping and ports — and that cleaner ports, in turn, strengthen the sustainability, resilience and economic competitiveness of coastal communities.
