Green Ports - Chapter 11: Green Port Strategies in China

In responding to the increasing challenges from both global climate change and local air pollution, environmental strategies are increasingly applied by ports in many developed countries, although some ports remain reluctant to increase costs for their users and potentially lose traffic. For developing countries, this conflict between port competitiveness and environmental protection is even sharper. Therefore recognizing that green port strategies are not "one size fits all," the question of how to transfer successful green port strategies from developed to developing countries remains unanswered. This chapter aims to understand the gap between developed and developing countries in green port strategy application by analysis of ports in China. China was chosen on the basis that, while still classed as a developing country, China's rapid economic development and world-leading ports position the country as a bridge between developed and developing countries. Green port strategies already employed in developed countries are used as the basis for semistructured interviews undertaken at two leading ports in China that are considered pioneers in their green port management. Results show that the green port strategies applied in the ports were investment in intermodal transport connections and dry ports in the hinterland, reducing waste, dust, and noise and, to a lesser extent, reducing emissions of port activities. This situation is not dissimilar to ports in developed countries, who also prefer to act on the issues under their control, first, actions within the port, and second, the intermodal connections, but least motivated to take actions that may increase costs for carriers.