<\/code><\/p>\nU.S. Congressman Alan Lowenthal (CA-47) and Edie Chang, Deputy Executive Officer of Planning, Freight & Toxics Division at the California Air Resources Board spoke at a Community Town Hall moderated by Joe Lyou, president and CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air. The event was hosted by Pacific Environment and Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma August 31 evening.<\/p>\n
Rep. Lowenthal represents the Port of Long Beach \u2013 one of the nation\u2019s busiest cargo ports, and an area that is facing extreme pollution from fossil fuel ships.\u00a0\u00a0At the Town Hall, community members shared heartbreaking stories about how ship pollution has affected their family and communities in profound and irreversible ways.<\/p>\n
The policymakers demanded an end to ocean shipping pollution in ports and at sea.<\/p>\n
Congressman Lowenthal said, \u201cSince my earliest days of public service on the Long Beach City Council three decades ago, I have worked to clean up the maritime industry. This session of Congress, I introduced a bill to clean up the massive emissions generated from the maritime shipping industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must all work together towards zeroing out pollution from all ocean shipping companies that do business with the U.S. for our children, our community, and our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
CARB Deputy Executive Officer Edie Chang said \u201cWe are vigorously attacking every source of harmful pollution from the transportation of freight that impacts the health of port-adjacent communities.\u00a0\u00a0This includes requiring ships in California waters to use clean-burning fuel, and plugging those ships into the grid \u2013 and turning off their engines \u2013 while they\u2019re loading and unloading.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recently updated our standards for harbor craft from ferries to tugboats so they use the very cleanest engines.\u00a0\u00a0We are proposing regulations to require that trucks transporting containers in and out of ports shift rapidly to zero-emissions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we are continuing to push for tougher federal new engine standards for locomotives to complement our proposed regulations to address sources of pollution like interstate locomotives that California must have in order clean the air especially near port-adjacent communities that are already burdened by high levels of air pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n
In July, Rep. Lowenthal introduced the Clean Shipping Act, aimed at zeroing out pollution from all ocean shipping companies that do business with the U.S. This legislation will protect the health of port communities, address environmental injustice and provide solutions to the climate crisis. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats secured billions of dollars that would help fund the zero-emission transition at the ports.<\/p>\n
Antonio Santos, Federal Climate Policy Director, Pacific Environment, said: \u201cWe are on the cusp of market changes for zero-emission shipping. But we face a climate crisis, and it\u2019s incumbent on federal, state, and local governments to put into place policies and investments to help accelerate the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor far too long, port communities have suffered the burden of maritime pollution, and it\u2019s time to right the ship. We need Congress to act and pass the Clean Shipping Act of 2022 to end dirty fossil-fueled shipping in our oceans and ports.\u201d<\/p>\n
In June, the City of Long Beach joined the City of Los Angeles in calling on the San Pedro Port Complex\u2019s top maritime importers to commit to making all calls on 100% zero-emission ships by 2030.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing strong momentum at various levels of government for zero-emission ocean shipping this decade, including recent resolutions from the City of Long Beach and Los Angeles and the Inflation Reduction Act\u2019s $3 billion for reducing air pollution at ports,\u201d said Dawny\u2019all Heydari, Lead for the Ship It Zero campaign, Pacific Environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmissions from ocean cargo ships pose serious risks to public health, including death from cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as childhood asthma. This is most especially detrimental to portside working-class Black and Brown communities, including West Long Beach, Wilmington, and San Pedro.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applaud the leadership of Rep. Lowenthal, the California Air Resources Board, and city councils for taking action at such a critical time for climate change, and we will continue to demand an end to ship pollution this decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Port of Long Beach also joined the Ports of Los Angeles and Shanghai and C40 Cities\u2019 Green Ports Forum to create the world\u2019s first transpacific green shipping corridor between ports in the United States and China.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to solve our climate crisis or our air pollution problems without addressing emissions from ships,\u201d said Joe Lyou, President and CEO of Coalition for Clean Air and moderator of the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis town hall gives us an opportunity to get going in the right direction. We will talk about the problems, the solutions, and the concrete next steps we can all take to reduce and eventually eliminate greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions from ships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: https:\/\/maritimefairtrade.org\/u-s-policymakers-demand-end-to-ocean-shipping-pollution\/<\/p>\n
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