The cost of cleaner air at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles could cost as much as $14 billion according to a draft action plan released by the port complexes today.
The 2017 San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) calls for cleaner trucks, improved on-dock rail infrastructure, transitioning the oldest, most polluting ships out of its fleet and speeding up the deployment of cleaner harbor craft in an attempt to transition to zero-emission trucks by 2035 and zero emission terminal equipment by 2030.
It also seeks to develop updated port terminal equipment including electrified equipment, alternative fuels and decrease truck turn times.
The announcement comes the same week that state lawmakers voted to extend California’s cap-and-trade program through 2030. The program requires entities to buy permits for the ability to pollute as a mechanism to drive businesses into greener practices.
In improving efficiencies at the port complexes, the ports could also further reduce the pollution that has exposed residents in the region to particulates which have contributed to higher than average asthma and cancer rates as well as other medical conditions.
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