There was some good news when it comes to pollution at the Port of Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept. 7.
Emissions were down from all port-related sources last year, largely because of a decline in ships at anchor and ongoing initiatives to reduce contaminants.
But big challenges remain, namely the uphill push to get to a zero-emissions status.
And ships remain the largest source of pollution, port officials said. While incentives are being offered for cleaner ships, it is a category over which the port has no direct mandatory control.
“Ship emissions gradually increased,” Chris Cannon, director of environmental management for the port, said in his presentation to the five-member Los Angeles harbor commission on Thursday. “But everything else is going down.”
Ships, he said, are getting bigger and represent a category that remains among the largest challenges.
The emissions reports are provided annually and are based on goals laid out in the Clean Air Action Plan that both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach approved from 2006.
The readings look at “every single piece of equipment” in the port, Cannon said, noting that a big jump in emissions occurred in 2021 when ships were backed up in the harbor during what was a cargo surge amid the COVID-19 pandemic years.
The emissions inventory, he said, “usually trends downward but (in 2021) we had a big jump. This year we’re back to where we were before the pandemic.
“What this shows is you can never rest on you laurels; all it takes is one year that can throw you off,” Cannon added. “We’re back on track and we have good numbers this year.”
Earlier drops in emissions during the program, he added, also can look more dramatic as the port was able to address the “low-hanging fruit.”
Now, the emphasis is shifting to a tougher challenge — zero emissions.
“That’s the push,” he said, “and each terminal is testing equipment now.”
Among the goals is to have all terminal operating…
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