Port of Tacoma considers 2040 zero-emissions goal, 10 years ahead of current target year
.JPG "Mount Rainier looms over the Port of Tacoma, as seen from Commencement Bay, September 26, 2018")
The Northwest Seaport Alliance and the Port of Tacoma are both considering a 10-year acceleration of some of their long-term zero-emissions goals. The purpose for the new date is to demonstrate leadership and align with the Port of Seattle’s emission reduction target dates.
At the June 20 monthly Port of Tacoma regular commission meeting, a plan was proposed to accelerate cutting two categories of maritime emissions to zero by 2040. The current target is to cut specific emissions under direct control of port operations to zero by 2050. The emissions reduced to zero by 2040 would account for about 3% of the port’s total.
The Port of Tacoma’s board of commissioners will vote on the plan at their July meeting.
Graham VanderSchelden, environmental project manager with The Northwest Seaport Alliance, presented the proposal to the port commissioners. The Northwest Seaport Alliance is a cargo port organization that operates under a partnership between the ports of Tacoma and Seattle.
He said he estimates the accelerated goal will cost between $8.9 million and $17.8 million. Resources would be pooled toward purchasing and maintaining electric vehicles, replacing natural gas, establishing infrastructure for electric-powered equipment and purchasing renewable fuel.
“It’s really important to demonstrate we’re electrifying vehicles, taking that action,” VanderSchelden said during the presentation. He added that the 10-year difference demonstrates leadership and allows him and his team to take environmental action where they have most control.
VanderSchelden added that the proposed emissions target would also align with the Port of Seattle’s current strategy.
However, not all emissions are being cut by 2040. VanderSchelden said the emissions goal comprises only Scope 1 and 2 emissions, but not Scope 3 emissions.
What are Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions?
Scope 1 emissions
These are pollutants that companies directly cause, according to the World Economic Forum. VanderSchelden explained that the port’s primary Scope 1 emissions are linked to fleets burning diesel fuel and port-owned facilities powered by natural gas or propane.
Scope 2 emissions
These are indirect emissions that occur due to production of energy that a company buys, according to the World Economic Forum.
Environmentalists have more control over reducing emissions that are in the Scope 1 and 2 categories, VanderSchelden said.
Scope 3 emissions
Like Scope 2, Scope 3 emissions are also indirect pollutants and contribute the most gas pollution by far. However, these greenhouse gases are the hardest for environmental project managers to control, VanderSchelden said, because they originate from sources not controlled or owned by the company.
In the case of the Port of Tacoma, the largest sources of Scope 3 emissions comes from buildings leased to tenants and international ships that settle at port, VanderSchelden told The News Tribune. Other examples VanderSchelden cites are extraction and production or purchased materials, transportation of purchased fuels and others utilizing sold products and services.
This the current timeline to reduce the Port of Tacoma’s emissions:
2030: Reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 50%
2040: Reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 70%
2050: Reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 100%
The new timeline would, according to VanderSchelden, resemble this:
- 2030: Reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 50%
- 2040: Reduce Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 100%; reduce Scope 3 emissions by 70%
- 2050: Reduce Scope 3 emissions by 100%
VanderSchelden noted in his presentation that Scope 3 emissions comprise roughly 97% of the Port of Tacoma’s total emissions.
Plans to reduce Tacoma’s maritime greenhouse gas emissions are part of the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy. The initiative, which encompasses the ports of Tacoma, Seattle, Northwest Seaport Alliance, and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in British Columbia, established a plan in 2020 to cut all shipping and port greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
The Port of Tacoma’s next Regular Commission Meeting is scheduled for noon on July 18. Meetings are open to the public and are held at the Fabulich Center on Port of Tacoma Road.
