The fossil fuel industries may have breathed a sigh of relief after the election. But California’s resolve to address environmental issues exhibits no signs of wavering. In fact, any weakening of federal environmental standards that affect the port industry will bring even greater significance to local efforts to reduce air emissions and promote sustainability. California’s new Sustainable Freight Action Plan establishes a path toward zero emission transportation technologies. Expectations will be high for the state’s ports to lead the way in implementation.
But the progress made by California’s ports in reducing air emissions since 2006 was done with significant federal support. The Environmental Protection Agency became a partner in those efforts. While the local ports showed their willingness to go it alone, federal efforts to support initiatives that began in California helped “level the playing” among the ports, an important factor in port competitiveness. Case in point — measures to promote use of low sulfur fuels by oceangoing vessels were reinforced by federal actions to create the North American Emission Control Area.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach just released an update to their 2006 Clean Air Action Plan, proposing further reductions in emissions from fossil fuels. Conditions are not what they were in 2006 — trade is growing slower, competition has intensified. The 2006 plan was adopted when cargo volumes had peaked. But the plan’s initial programs, such as its Clean Truck Program, were implemented, during the worst recession in decades.
There’s always a reason not to do something. Implementing the state plan and a new San Pedro Bay plan will be hard. It will be even harder without federal support if California port industries are expected to cover any shortcomings on the federal side. But California will still lead the way — doing the hard stuff.