Commenting, Mark Simmonds, Head of Policy, at the British Ports Association said: “We welcome the Government’s Clean Maritime Plan, which is a solid foundation on which the industry and Government must build. Industry will be responsible for delivering on the ambitions in this plan and the wider ‘Net Zero’ targets. As the Plan rightly sets out, success will depend on long-term close collaboration. The British Ports Association is ready to work closely with Government on these challenges. The UK has enjoyed a decades-long consensus that a market-led ports sector delivers world-class infrastructure and services to the international shipping industry which carries 95% of our trade. We believe that approach, in collaboration with Government, can be brought to bear to tackle humanity’s greatest challenge. For many, there will be opportunities in tackling these issues. Ports are already quite literally on the front line of climate change – dealing with rising sea levels and more extreme weather events and the ports industry will play a pivotal role in tackling these huge challenges. We are pleased that one early commitment is for the Government to review the environmental and economic case for coastal shipping, which we believe has a role to play in taking lorries off UK streets and reducing emissions. We also note the forecasts in this document that set out some possibly enormous growth in demands for energy that may need to flow through ports, whether it be shore-side power or bunkering cleaner fuels and we relish the challenge of tackling these in the coming months and years.”
Sunday, December 22, 2024
