Climate change: challenges and response options for the port sector

Climate change is an established and growing priority environmental issue. This paper investigates the importance of climate change in ports through a research-based survey on data collected from participants at the Greenport Congress in Valencia in 2018. The data for this paper were obtained from t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Azarkamand, Sahar, Balbaa, Alsnosy, Wooldridge, Chris, Darbra Roman, Rosa Maria|||0000-0003-4076-6898
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/329472
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/329472
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12176941
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Harbors--Environmental aspects
Climate change
Ports
Carbon footprint
CO2 emissions
Ports -- Aspectes ambientals
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria hidràulica, marítima i sanitària::Ports i costes
Descripción
Sumario:Climate change is an established and growing priority environmental issue. This paper investigates the importance of climate change in ports through a research-based survey on data collected from participants at the Greenport Congress in Valencia in 2018. The data for this paper were obtained from the responses of 55 port professionals and environmental specialists that replied to a questionnaire survey during the Congress. Questionnaires were analyzed to identify the opinions and experience of delegates. A collaborative approach involving the free exchange of knowledge and experience between port professionals, industry practitioners and academia is the model most likely to deliver practicable options to the mutual advantage of operators, local communities, regulatory authorities and the environment. Based on the results of this survey, Climate Change occupies the 6th position among top 10 environmental port priorities and Carbon Footprint the 8th position. This reflects the importance of these two issues in the whole set of environmental priorities. Data collection has been identified as the main challenge ports encounter to implement a carbon management program. The need for a common port-sector Carbon Footprint scheme, which would benefit individual port authorities and the port-sector as a whole, was highlighted by the participants.