Ports of LA and Long Beach Maintain Clean Air Targets Amid 2024 Growth
By Jacqueline M. Moore, Vice President, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
In 2010, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles published the Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), establishing ambitious emission reduction targets. Thanks to the marine terminals and vessel operators, trucking companies, railroads, tugs and harbor craft, and many other supply chain partners doing business at the southern California ports we have reached and maintained those voluntary 2023 reduction targets three years early.
The two Ports have now both released their latest individual annual Emission Inventory reports for 2024, and PMSA, whose membership comprises many of these industry stakeholders, is proud to announce the combined reductions which reveal that diesel particulate matter (DPM) is down by 90%, 98% for sulfur oxides (SOx), and 70% for nitrogen oxides (NOx), compared to the CAAP baseline year of 2005. This is especially remarkable given near historic cargo volumes, seeing 41% growth in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) since 2005. This translates into all-important extraordinary efficiencies gained. The efficiency metric, emissions on a per container basis, continue to impress ranging from 79 – 99%. No other industry can claim such significant achievements of emission reductions goals.
This is a success story. Especially when looking at 2024’s volumes, which saw 20% container growth when compared to 2023 and a near 19.9 million TEUs. All the while emissions improvements were maintained and continued to best the CAAP goals.
It is also critical to place this in the larger geographic context, comparing port-related emissions to the total emissions of the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB). The contribution by Cargo handling equipment (CHE) makes up only 0.5% and heavy-duty trucks at just 0.8%. The vessels that call at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are often censured as the culprit for the region’s extreme nonattainment with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground level ozone; however, as vessels contribute just 5.6% of total SCAB NOx in the entire region, this is simply fallacious.
These 2024 San Pedro Bay Port emission reductions are proof yet again we can achieve historic growth in container volumes in tandem with environmental stewardship. The next 25 years will surely prove to be a transformation of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles towards their zero-emissions and decarbonization goals. Industry is actively investing in new zero-emissions equipment and heavy-duty trucks, with the international maritime industry as a whole focusing efforts on reaching net-zero greenhouse gases by deploying alternative clean fuels of the future for vessels. Given these investments, we expect to continue to outperform our CAAP goals for many years to come.
Jacqueline M. Moore serves as Vice President for Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) in the Long Beach office.
Ms. Moore engages with regulators, policy makers, and industry to promote feasible and sound maritime environmental and safety matters at the regional, state, and federal levels. As a trained scientist, she proudly provides a unique perspective in the public policy forum.
Ms. Moore has dedicated her career to the goods movement industry in various capacities in private and government roles. Prior to joining PMSA, Jacqueline oversaw environmental policy, planning, compliance, and regulatory activities at the Port of Long Beach and BNSF Railway Company. Ms. Moore also worked in the Office of the Chair, Ombudsman’s Office at the California Air Resources Board, aiding businesses in interpreting and complying with air quality regulations.
Jacqueline earned a Master of Science in Climate Change with an emphasis in Policy from University College London in the United Kingdom. She is also a California State University graduate.