Green Port Guidelines launched aiming to achieve zero carbon emission goal

Guwahati, May 10: To meet the larger vision of achieving Zero Carbon Emission Goal, ministry of ports, shipping and waterways launched ‘Harit Sagar’ the Green Port Guidelines, in New Delhi on May 10.

The guidelines were launched by Sarbananda Sonowal, union minister for ports, shipping and waterways in the presence of Shripad Y Naik, union minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways and tourism and other senior officials of the ministry.

Harit Sagar Guidelines 2023 envisages ecosystem dynamics in port development, operation and maintenance while aligning with ‘Working with Nature’ concept and minimizing impact on biotic components of harbor ecosystem. It lays emphasis on use of Clean / Green energy in port operation, developing port capabilities for storage, handling and bunkering Greener Fuels – Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia, Green Methanol / Ethanol and others.

These guidelines provides a framework for the major ports for drawing out a comprehensive action plan for achieving targeted outcomes in terms of quantified reduction in carbon emission over defined timelines, through focused implementation and close monitoring of Green Initiatives and to achieve Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG).

“Ports are undertaking green initiatives and actively contributing to the fulfillment of the ‘Panchamrit’ commitments announced by our honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The ‘Harit Sagar’ Guidelines -2023 provide a comprehensive framework for our major ports, empowering them to create a comprehensive action plan aimed at achieving quantifiable reductions in carbon emissions over defined timelines,” said Sonowal.

The objective of guidelines is to minimize waste through ‘Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle’ to attain zero waste discharge from port operations and promote monitoring, based on Environmental Performance Indicators. This also covers aspects of National Green Hydrogen Mission pertaining to ports, development of green hydrogen facility, LNG bunkering, Offshore Wind Energy and provides provision for adopting global Green Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard.

“The launch of the Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines is a significant step towards achieving our sustainability goals. These guidelines have been formulated with the aim of promoting environmental friendly practices across all our ports,” said Shripad Naik.

Four major ports – Deendayal Port, Visakhapatnam Port, New Mangalore Port and VOC Port are already generating renewable energy more than their demand. From now onwards these ports will be able to evaluate themselves on the environmental indicators to know their capability in the environmental aspects.