The Carbon Footprint of Valencia Port: A Case Study of the Port Authority of Valencia (Spain)

Maritime transport is responsible for 13% of the Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions of the transport sector. Port authorities, terminals, shipping companies, and other stakeholders have joined efforts to improve this sector's environmental performance. In Spain, the Ministry for Ecological Transi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-11, Vol.17 (21), p.8157
Main Authors: Cloquell Ballester, Víctor, Lo-Iacono-Ferreira, Vanesa G, Artacho-Ramírez, Miguel Ángel, Capuz-Rizo, Salvador F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide
Carbon Footprint
Climate change
Container ships
Emissions
Energy consumption
Energy policy
Environmental management
Environmental performance
Footprint analysis
Gasoline
Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse gases
Greenhouse Gases - analysis
Infrastructure
Marine transportation
Port authorities
Ports
Ship terminals
Ships
Spain
Traffic
Traffic congestion
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Summary:Maritime transport is responsible for 13% of the Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions of the transport sector. Port authorities, terminals, shipping companies, and other stakeholders have joined efforts to improve this sector's environmental performance. In Spain, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge has developed a methodology to assess the carbon footprint. This methodology has been adapted to ports and applied to processes under the Port Authority of Valencia's umbrella achieving scopes 1, 2, and 3. The results highlight that ship traffic, within the port, of containers and cruises (categorized in scope 3) had a major impact on the carbon footprint. Buildings lighting managed by the terminals has a significant effect on scope 2. Diesel consumption shares with gasoline consumption the primary representation in scope 1. The carbon footprint between 2008 and 2016 was maintained, although traffic in the port increased by 24% during this period. The results show a decrease of 17% when emissions are compared using the base year's emissions factors to avoid external factors. Future projects that include self-consumption or renewable energy policies seem to be the next step in a port that shows good results but still has room for improvement in activities of scope 3.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph17218157