In view of the upcoming EU elections in June, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) — which represents over 98% of the seaports of the European Union — has set its priorities for the next five years with a strong focus on energy transition.
The world is in transition, ports are in transition. More than ever, ports are strategic entities and enablers of Europe’s ambitions and its sustainable, digital, competitive, strong and social future. Ports want to be part of the solution and are taking up new responsibilities on top of their traditional role as multimodal hub in the supply chain.
Entitled “a net-zero, smart, resilient and competitive Europe: Europe’s ports are part of the solution”, ESPO’s memorandum outlines nine priorities:
In related news, eleven ports represented by ESPO have been certified through the EcoPorts’ Port Environmental Review System (PERS).
The ports in question are the Port of Algeciras, the Port of Barcelona, the Port of Klaipeda, the Ports of Niedersachsen, the Ports of Tenerife, the Port of Sevilla, the Port of Igoumenitsa, the Port of Waterford, the Port of Dover, the Port of Pori, and the Port of Vigo.
“Once again, we see that assessing your environmental performance is not something for only one kind of ports, but that small, big, northern, southern, eastern, western ports in Europe increasingly go for environmental certification ,” Isabelle Ryckbost , ESPO Secretary General, commented during the certificate award ceremony in Paris.
“I would like to congratulate all the PERS-certified ports on their achievement. Re-certification requires the port to show improved environmental management. Some are receiving the certificate for the sixth time already. It should be noted that the ports of Waterford, Klaipeda and Tenerife are getting PERS-certified for the first time. Many of the PERS-certified ports today are long-time members of the EcoPorts network and have made sustainability a core part of their mission. We look forward to working with all these ports in their continued efforts to engage in excellent environmental management,” Anaëlle Boudry , ESPO Senior Policy Advisor and EcoPorts Coordinator, said.
PERS is the only port-specific environmental standard. The last five years have seen important increases in its recognition and membership, with 90 ports from 27 countries currently counting themselves as part of the EcoPorts Network, and 33 ports holding PERS certification.