Every May, the United States observes Clean Air Month, established in 1972 by the American Lung Association, to raise awareness about air quality and public health. From reducing shipping emissions to tackling industrial pollutants, Clean Air Month is an opportunity to advocate for cleaner air, reducing pollution and protecting our health.
This May, our teams are active on multiple fronts:
- Working alongside port communities in New Jersey — where families in Newark, Elizabeth and Bayonne have long shouldered the health burden of diesel pollution from the largest and busiest cargo ports on the East Coast to curb ship pollution and stop fossil fuel build-out.
- Across Asia, where we’re partnering with ports in the Republic of Korea and Japan to reimagine maritime infrastructure as a driver of clean energy and to transition ships and ports to zero-emission technology.
- At theInternational Maritime Organization, where our advocacy helped secure the world’s largest clean air zone at sea in the North-East Atlantic, which was years in the making.
Clean air is a matter of health, equity and justice and Pacific Environment is proud to be in this fight wherever it takes us.
The North-East Atlantic just became the world’s largest clean air zone at sea
Pacific Environment staff were on the ground when the International Maritime Organization formally adopted the world’s largest emission control area in the North-East Atlantic Ocean! This adoption was long in the making and Pacific Environment has advocated for this issue for years — including participating in meetings with member states, communicating the importance of these areas and the impact on the Arctic, as well as elevating the areas through interventions during the meeting.
An ECA designation means that ships must burn cleaner fuels as soon as they enter the zone, otherwise they face penalties when they enter a port. This is huge for the 1,500 marine protected areas, 17 important marine mammal habitats, 148 UNESCO World Heritage sites and the 190 million people that call this area home (the ECA spans France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, the U.K., Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands). This move also links existing ECAs in the Baltic, North and Mediterranean seas and the recently established Canadian and Norwegian Arctic ECAs — providing a continuous zone of air emission protections.
What’s more, the ECA would cut 36% of black carbon emissions from one of the busiest shipping corridors affecting the Arctic. Black carbon is a climate super-pollutant and a driver of Arctic warming: when soot particles land on ice and snow, they darken the surface, which causes it to absorb heat instead of reflecting it, accelerating melting dramatically.
Asia ports move to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality in port communities
Across Asia, ports are advancing exciting decarbonization strategies. The Republic of Korea is scaling up Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) infrastructure under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ maritime decarbonization strategy. China has expanded shore power deployment at major ports under Ministry of Transport green port policies. Japan is advancing its Carbon Neutral Port (CNP) framework under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), establishing port-level decarbonization roadmaps and coordinated approaches for emissions reduction. And Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) is implementing the Maritime Singapore Decarbonization Blueprint 2050, including electrification of harbor craft and development of supply chains for low- and zero-carbon marine fuels.
Pacific Environment’s latest publication, “Renewable energy-based port electrification in Republic of Korea,” was released last week in Busan during Korea’s “Go to Sea” Month. This report was authored by our team in the Republic of Korea and explores how local ports can be reimagined as renewable energy hubs. The report proposes a new approach that connects renewable energy curtailment challenges with port electrification opportunities. By linking underutilized renewable energy resources with growing electricity demand at ports, it highlights how ports can evolve beyond traditional logistics hubs and become strategic energy hubs that simultaneously expand renewable energy utilization and accelerate shipping decarbonization. We also rolled out a new study in March, “An analysis of Japan’s Carbon Neutral Port initiative and Yokohama Port and Harbor Decarbonization Plan,” with the University of California, Berkeley, which examines Japan’s innovative approach to decarbonizing maritime ports. Japan’s Carbon Neutral Port (CNP) certification framework and the city of Yokohama’s port decarbonization initiatives represent serious and forward-looking efforts to address the complex challenge of maritime emissions reduction. These regional initiatives highlight the growing role of Asian ports in accelerating maritime decarbonization through electrification, alternative fuels and port infrastructure development.
Pacific Environment advocates for a fossil-free Newark
The Port of New York and New Jersey is the main gateway for marine cargo on the East Coast, handling the equivalent of 8 million containers annually. Diesel fumes from idling ships at the port contribute to poor health outcomes such as high rates of asthma and heart disease in Newark, Elizabeth and Bayonne. Shore power can cut pollution, save lives and create high-road jobs. The good news: We are working with port communities in New Jersey and New York to improve air quality by advocating for cleaner shipping practices, including:
- Stopping ports’ fossil fuel buildout
- Clean shipping technology like shore power
- Zero-emission trade and shipping routes
Air pollution from maritime shipping has long burdened port communities like Newark, Elizabeth and Bayonne, New Jersey. Portside residents — often working class and communities of color — are exposed to more diesel exhaust. Families shouldn’t pay with their health. This is why Pacific Environment is advocating for a fossil-free ordinance for Newark, New Jersey and calling for the Port of New York and New Jersey to adopt pollution from ships idling.
Thanks for reading and happy Clean Air Month!
