COP29 pledge unites global port industry to ensure climate resilience of ports

Multi-stakeholder initiative Resilience4Ports has launched the first sectoral, action-based commitment to enhance and accelerate the resilience of ports from the effects of climate change.

To mark Resilience Day at COP29, Resilience4Ports – the initiative that seeks to enhance and accelerate the resilience of ports and the communities that rely on them – has called on policymakers, businesses, financiers, industry associations, international organizations, and port operators to commit to the Adaptation and Resilience goals of the Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Maritime Resilience Breakthroughs.

The Call to Action pledge is said to be the first sectoral, action-based commitment from global port actors to address the resilience of infrastructure, operations and activities considering climate change, asking industry partners to undertake four key actions: understand and manage climate risks; integrate climate resilience into business models and processes; foster community focuses in business continuity; and share knowledge and experiences.

“Ports face cumulative pressures from climate change, geopolitical uncertainty, net-zero commitments, technological disruption, and the urgent need for social and environmental equity. To meet these challenges, port infrastructure will have to be built, and existing structures adapted on an enormous scale – including in emerging maritime economies throughout the Global South and Small Island Developing States (SIDS),” Darshana Godaliyadde, Director of the Resilience4Ports initiative, said.

“Our pledge aims to unite decision-makers and actors across the port sector in the name of a common goal: mitigating risk and building resilience to ensure a safe and sustainable port system including supply chains, ocean and coastal ecosystems and communities, now and in the future.”

“We reaffirm our commitment to the Resilience4Ports pledge, highlighting our proactive stance on climate change and decarbonization. Since 2016, the Port of Baku has worked with regional and global partners to develop the Middle Corridor into a Green Corridor, enhancing resilience and fostering connectivity. We aim to implement innovative solutions that strengthen infrastructure, protect ecosystems, and promote ESG principles, with a goal of advancing resilient infrastructure to support vulnerable regions and enhance sustainable maritime trade in the Caspian region,” Taleh Ziyadov, Director General of the Port of Baku, commented.

“Ports are at the crossroads of the energy transition as hubs for alternative fuels, renewable energy production and hosting the new net-zero industries (e.g. green hydrogen, e-fuels, biofuels, offshore wind). Biodiversity and restoration, as well as infrastructure adaptation to climate change, are becoming increasingly important. We need to act now with a long-term innovative vision that combines an economic, environmental and social commitment,” Ricardo Barkala, President of Bilbao Port, pointed out.

Ships deliver over 80% of the world’s trade. The effects of climate change, such as higher temperatures, rising sea levels and more frequent and severe weather patterns all have an acute impact on the safe operation of port infrastructure.

For example, Hurricane Katrina caused over $1.7 billion in damages to Southern Louisiana ports. In 2003, Typhoon Maemi left the Port of Busan in South Korea inoperable for over 90 days.

With the impacts of climate change becoming increasingly frequent and severe, it’s vital that our port systems can adapt to withstand unpredictable operating environments and maintain the supply vital goods and services to hundreds of millions of people around the world, according to Resilience4Ports.

Resilience4Ports, led by the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI) and supported by core partners, Arup, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, says it helps drive a safer and more sustainable port system by tracking progress against key resilience metrics and holding industry leaders to account.

The pledge, launched on November 15, is the next step in this process. Accompanied by a progress report that emphasizes the adoption and implementation of sustainable and resilient strategies in port systems, it provides port actors with a framework to make the right decisions and enable ports to better anticipate, withstand, and recover from disruptions, all while keeping the people that operate them safe.