The Port of Long Beach released the results of its 2005-2024 study on emissions associated with commercial activity, showing an overall decline in all indicators.
The report revealed that the Port’s aggressive measures to reduce the environmental impact of its operations have cut diesel particulates by 90%, nitrogen oxides by 68%, and sulfur oxides by 98% since 2005, the base year for measuring emissions. Meanwhile, cargo volume increased 44% over the same period.
While the Port of Long Beach continues to exceed the targets set in the 2010 Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) for 2023 (emission reductions of 77% for diesel particulates, 59% for nitrogen oxides, and 93% for sulfur oxides), some emission categories increased in the short term, from 2023 to 2024. Year-over-year, diesel soot and nitrogen oxides grew 23% and 12%, respectively. Sulfur oxides decreased 2%.
The main factor impacting emissions was the record 9.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containerized cargo handled in 2024, a 20.3% increase over the previous year. Furthermore, Long Beach included dredges in the inventory for the first time, which increased emissions from harbor craft, but at the same time provided greater transparency and accountability for port-related sources.
Since the 2017 CAAP Update, the Port has reduced diesel soot by 4%, nitrogen oxides by 27%, and sulfur oxides by 21%. On a per-container basis, the terminal is moving cargo cleaner than ever, with a reduction in diesel particulate emissions per TEU of 25%, nitrogen oxides of 43%, and sulfur oxides of 39% since 2017.
Together with the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach is committed this fall to enhancing the Clean Air Action Plan, a voluntary and historic project that has achieved notable progress in reducing emissions from port-related sources, as documented in the annual emissions inventories. These CAAP Plus measures include comprehensive infrastructure planning to support zero-emission technology and enhancing incentives for cleaner transoceanic vessels, the largest source of emissions at the ports, through strategies such as the Environmental Ship Index incentive.
The measures also call for accelerating shore power, collaborating with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to prioritize investing Clean Truck Fund revenues in the transition to zero-emission trucks and infrastructure, and developing an incentive program for the utilization of zero-emission drayage trucks.
The Port is moving forward with a series of plans to address all pollutants, including greenhouse gases, which have increased 16% since 2017. Over the next 10 years, the Port plans to invest USD 222 million to support zero emissions and energy resilience, including projects for the Port’s own fleet of equipment and vehicles.
This figure does not include the contributions that individual terminal operators and other stakeholders are also making to the Port’s zero-emission transformation. The six container terminals at the Port of Long Beach have projects to support zero-emission cargo handling equipment, which currently comprises 21% of the fleet.
