The Long Beach City Council has unanimously passed a Ship It Zero Resolution 6-0, calling on San Pedro Bay maritime importers to commit to 100 per cent zero-emissions shipping by 2030.

This resolution unites the nation’s largest ports, Los Angeles and Long Beach, in making the commitment of zero-emissions ocean shipping by 2030, as well as calling on the Port of Long Beach to establish greener international ocean shipping corridors.

The Port of Long Beach recently signed on to the Shanghai-Los Angeles Green Shipping Corridor, to enable a zero-emissions trans-Pacific trade route. The partnership intends to address the current climate change crisis and deliver urgent solutions to achieve net-zero shared goals by 2030.

“As a hub for international trade, Long Beach and its residents face significant impacts from cargo ship pollutants,” said Al Austin II, Long Beach City Council Member, District 8.

“As cleaner, emission-friendly technology becomes more available, it is necessary for the city and those who utilise our port to take every feasible step to curb airborne emissions wherever possible.”

The resolution also comprises support for legislation or administrative action to decarbonise the maritime shipping industry and create zero-emission shipping corridors along the Californian coast, the US West Coast, and across the trans-Pacific trade route.

As recently reported by Ship It Zero, the international ocean shipping industry’s pollution is on the rise and is expected to comprise 17 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

The Los Angeles County receives 40 per cent of all containerised cargo imports to the US coming through the San Pedro Bay port complex, making the surrounding communities particularly vulnerable to deadly pollutants. This highlights the need for more zero-emissions shipping resolutions.

“Pandemic-era supply chain issues have left over 100 ocean cargo ships idling off the coast of the Port of Long Beach, spewing toxic pollution into Black, Brown, poor, and working-class Californians’ air for far too long,” said Dawny’all Heydari, Ship It Zero Campaign Lead, Pacific Environment.

“Thank you to the Long Beach City Council for prioritising the health and wellness of residents of Long Beach by drawing a line in the sand for big retailers like Target, Walmart, IKEA, and Amazon to clean up their dirty shipping practices. No longer shall West Long Beach be treated as the collateral damage of the American economy.”

Green corridor initiatives to fast-track decarbonisation across the maritime industry are on the rise, as the Port of Montreal recently signed a threefold alliance to bolster Canada’s main trade corridor.