Why Arctic Nations Should Invest in a Network of Green Ports

Due to melting sea ice, Arctic waters are opening for more business, including in the cargo shipping, tourism, and fishing sectors. But that's a double-edged sword: Busier maritime activity could bolster economies but threaten ecosystems by amplifying emissions. To sustainably capitalize on their maritime potential, Arctic states should invest in electrified, green ports that achieve carbon neutrality. Doing so would enable countries to capture the greater marine access of the melting Arctic while mitigating future emissions and climate impact.

To start, the transition towards greener ports is not a path that the Arctic must forge alone; in fact, there already exists plenty of work on the matter. In 2017, the World Ports Sustainability Program formed through partnerships between global port associations — including throughout the Americas and Europe — with the founding principle to enhance the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. WSPS builds upon the Paris Agreement, committed to keeping global temperature increase under 2 degrees Celsius. As Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, points out, "Ports are the connecting nodes of global trade and world economy. There is no way we can move this world towards sustainability without ports."

In the grand scheme, the emissions from ships far exceed ports; however, electrified ports would catalyze the greening of global shipping by supporting electric ships, a technology already benefiting from innovation....