Clean Air, Quality Jobs, Affordable Goods: The Collaborative Path for Southern California’s Ports

By Paul Granillo, President & CEO, Inland Empire Economic Partnership

On August 1, the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board (Board) voted to join the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in a collaborative process to achieve significant emissions reductions while preserving the economic engine that supports our region. The vote signaled the Board's commitment to treating environmental protection and economic growth as concurrent goals for our region of 19 million people. This approach acknowledges that emission reduction progress, quality jobs for workers, affordable goods for consumers, and reliable supply chains for businesses can all coexist.

The Board's decision to choose collaboration over regulatory compulsion represents the right approach - bringing together government agencies, regulated industries, organized labor, and community stakeholders to solve this challenge through partnership rather than top-down mandates.

At issue is how to keep building on the ports’ record of environmental progress. California’s ports and goods movement industries are already among the cleanest in the world. Since 2005, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have cut diesel particulate matter by 91%, nitrogen oxides by 72%, sulfur oxides by 98%, and greenhouse gases by 20%, surpassing their own clean-air targets.

While California’s goal remains to eliminate diesel and other harmful emissions, how those targets are achieved matters. In 2022, SCAQMD staff proposed the Ports Indirect Source Rule, which would have capped emissions with prescriptive requirements and left little room for innovation. Missing targets would have triggered cargo caps, costly penalties, and cargo diversion to other states, an outcome that would have increased emissions from longer ship, truck, and rail hauls while also threatening local jobs and raising costs for California families.

The Board instead endorsed a collaborative approach that would require the Ports to achieve the same goals through the Ports’ Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) they are already implementing. The Board opted to build on the success of the CAAP to achieve deeper emissions cuts.

This collaborative approach also aligns with Governor Newsom and the California Legislature’s passage of laws that preserves environmental protection and while facilitating the development of critical infrastructure. From housing permitting reform to artificial intelligence policy, the Governor has consistently championed solutions that avoid the false choice between regulation and development.

Reaching zero emission ports will be one of the largest infrastructure undertakings in California’s history – and the industry is “on board.” Achieving it will require advances in technology, major upgrades to facilities, and billions in investment, estimated at $14 billion.

The Board has taken an important first step toward a cooperative agreement. However, now they must withstand inevitable attacks from activist groups who will argue that commitments by all parties to achieve these goals are not enough – they will demand that the Board adopt the traditional approach that pits government against business, setting up a never-ending legal and political battle that will ripple across the economy, affecting consumers, exporters, and workers, while potentially failing to effectively reduce emissions.

Let’s not give California critics another argument that California is hostile to business and unable to provide its residents with an affordable lifestyle. The Southern California region should support the Board’s collaborative approach to a zero-emission supply chain.

About Paul Granillo

Paul Granillo has served as President and CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership since 2010. During that time IEEP has become one of the most recognized statewide organizations focused on galvanizing cross sector leadership to build a stronger regional economy for the nation’s 11th largest Metropolitan Area.

Paul sits on many National and Statewide Boards including the Executive Board of UnidosUS, is Chair of the Regional Economic Association Leaders of California and is a board member of Mobility 21, which is a coalition that brings together public, business and community stakeholders to pursue regional solutions to the transportation challenges facing Southern California and a member of the California Business Leaders Alliance.

In 2018, Mr. Granillo was named Regional Steward of the Year by the California Economic Summit for his work on behalf of businesses and residents of the Inland Empire and was also honored for that work by the California State Legislature. Paul was named the 2022 Business Advocate by the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. In 2025 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Human Letters by the California State University Board of Trustees.

About the Inland Empire Economic Partnership

The Inland Empire is a region rich in diversity and potential. IEEP focuses on harnessing this potential through strategic initiatives that bolster human capital, improve transportation infrastructure, enhance educational outcomes, and elevate environmental quality. Our collaborative approach ensures that we are not only meeting today’s needs but also laying the groundwork for a prosperous tomorrow. Read more on the Inland Empire Economic Partnership website.