The Long Beach City Council yesterday (18 April) unanimously approved a resolution ‘calling on top maritime importers to Long Beach to adopt existing emissions-reducing technologies and take steps towards making port calls to the San Pedro Port Complex on zero-carbon ships by 2030’.
The Council’s move has been welcomed by local climate action NGOs and supporters of the ‘Ship It Zero’ coalition.
In statement sent to Bunkerspot last night, Dawny’all Heydari, Climate Campaign Manager for Advocacy, Pacific Environment, said: ‘Fossil-fueled shipping contaminates [the] Long Beach community with asthma and cancer-causing pollutants, contributing to up to 8 years shorter life expectancy on the Westside of Long Beach compared to the Los Angeles County average. We thank Mayor Richardson and our City Council for calling for accountability from maritime importers – and, we urge our leaders to take their advocacy a step further and demand accountability from the Port of Long Beach itself, by banning new fossil fuel production or bunkering infrastructure on port property to prepare and accelerate the race to zero-emissions.’
While the resolution does seem to be a signal of intent, the wording ‘take steps towards’ could be taken to mean that this is not a cast-iron requirement for zero-carbon shipping by 2030.
The resolution – listed as 23-0383 – was prepared and submitted to the City Council meeting by the office of the City Attorney, Dawn McIntosh. Click here to access the resolution on the Long Beach City Council website.
