On 28 October the Policy Learning Platform organised an online matchmaking for the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain). The topic of the session was CO2 emissions from port operations and how to messure them and concrete ways to reduce them.

The key learnings and additional information can be found in the matchmaking report.

Peers from across Europe

Alongside Katherina Krell, our Thematic Expert for low-carbon economy, brilliant peers were invited and participated to the mtchmaking:

  • Katrin Witthoff, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ministry of Economy and Innovation, and Coordinator of SmoothPorts project (Germany)
  • Ivano Toni, Port Authority Network Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, Livorno (Italy)
  • Christophe Leclerc, Port of Nantes Saint Nazaire Authority (France)

Matchmaking objectives

The Port Authority of Tenerife was interested in learning what other port authorities are doing to measure their emissions and what measures have been implemented to reduce emissions. The matchmaking allowed them to learn from Interreg Europe peers in order to get inspiration and insights into proven ways to tackle their questions, and to create future collaborations.

Takeaways

  • Ports have multiple emissions, the most problematic for nearby cities being noise and pollution, whereas CO2 emissions are a global problem.
  • CO2 emissions are not traditionally monitored in ports, and only few have so far implemented CO2 measurement systems. Yet, knowing the status quo of CO2 emissions is key to be able to plan CO2 reduction measures and to be able to present their expected impact, which is going to be expected of future EU funding schemes that are all being aligned with the decarbonisation objectives.
  • Measurement methodologies, as tested and implemented in Livorno, started with a mapping of areas that was a prerequisite for the precise positioning of sensors. Acustic sensors were placed as portable units on a pole with a PV panel for auto-consumption. Thus, they can be placed at a different site at no extra cost, if needed. Sensors to measure PM, NOx, SOx and CO2 need more Energy and must be connected to an electricity outlet.
  • Own measurements can be intregrated with meteorological and other available data to form a comprehensive picture. Each vessel can be classified into a category and allocated typical emissions data. Environmental data of relevance for the public should be made available publicly.

Explore all the key takeaways and the peers' recommendations in the report.

Interreg Europe projects and their good practices

The main good practices identified were within the Smooth Ports project:

Several relevant good practices on can also be found on the Interreg Europe SmoothPorts web page.