Survey will support investment decision-making on future-proof port and navigation infrastructure by providing aggregated, opportunity cost data on the financial and operational impacts of extreme weather events.
The partners in the international Navigating a Changing Climate initiative have prepared a short survey to collect information about the effects of extreme weather events on seaports and inland ports. The purpose of the survey is to gather information from port operators around the world to improve understanding about the consequences and costs of extreme meteorological and/or oceanographic events.
Information provided by port operators in response to the survey will be collated and presented anonymously in an aggregated format; individual port or waterway data will be kept strictly confidential. The data collected will be held by the International Association of Ports and Harbors on behalf of the Navigating a Changing Climate partner associations. The survey results, presented in an consolidated format, will provide a new resource for use by the wider navigation infrastructure sector, helping individual seaports and inland ports make the right decision for their own business.
Preparing for the unforeseen
Jan Brooke, Focal Point for the Navigating a Changing Climate initiative, commented: "The many extreme weather events experienced across all regions of the world in recent years have impacted on ports and port operations at different scales of magnitude, both in developed and developing countries. Whilst it is not possible to attribute any single event to climate change, climate projections all suggest that extreme events will increase in both frequency and magnitude. The ports' sector therefore needs to prepare.
However, possible financial or business implications of such events are not always easy to foresee as they are by their nature unpredictable. Developing a sector-wide understanding of the potential consequences of extreme weather events is therefore vital. The objective of this survey is to aggregate the submitted data, anonymously, by geographical region, in order to develop an improved and accessible understanding about the frequency and type of events and their operational and financial impacts on ports."
Antonis Michail, Technical Director of the IAPH's World Ports Sustainability Program commented : " At the IAPH Guanghzou 2019 World Ports Conference, the survey has been launched amongst our member ports and we will also encourage relevant associate members to participate, such as terminal operators. As partner of the Navigating a Changing Climate initiative, we are committed to providing ports with practical tools that can be used to mitigate the impact of extreme meteorological or oceanographic events"
Survey details
The questions in the survey are deliberately generic, both to make it easy to complete the survey and to maintain confidentiality. Responses to the survey will be presented in an aggregate format, providing a new resource for use by the wider navigation infrastructure sector, helping ports and waterways make the right decision for their own business on dealing with extreme weather events.
Survey link : https://bit.ly/2UUWkQN
Technical enquiries:
Dr. Antonis Michail, Technical Director, World Ports Sustainability Program
Email : antonis.michail@sustainableworldports.org
Jan Brooke, Focal Point, Navigating a Changing Climate
Email : ThinkClimate@pianc.org
Press contact details :
Victor Shieh, Communications Partner, World Ports Sustainability Program
Email : victor.shieh@sustainableworldports.org
Tel : + 32 473 980 855
About IAPH (iaphworldports.org)
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is a non-profit-making global alliance of 170 ports and 140 port-related organisations covering 90 countries. Its member ports handle more than 60 percent of global maritime trade and around 80 percent of world container traffic. IAPH has consultative NGO status with several United Nations agencies. In 2018, IAPH established the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP). Guided by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, it aims to unite sustainability efforts of ports worldwide, encouraging international cooperation between all partners involved in the maritime supply chain. WPSP (sustainableworldports.org) covers five main areas of collaboration: energy transition, resilient infrastructure, safety and security, community outreach and governance.
About Navigating a Changing Climate (navclimate.pianc.org)
Navigating a Changing Climate is a Marrakech Partnership Global Climate Action initiative set up to support the owners, operators and users of waterborne transport infrastructure in responding to the changing climate. The initiative is dedicated to raising awareness, sharing good practice and providing technical support on reducing emissions, strengthening resilience, adapting navigation infrastructure and promoting integrated solutions. Navigating a Changing Climate was set up in 2015 in the run-up to the historic Paris Agreement on climate change. PIANC, The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure provides the focal point for the initiative on behalf the other partners: International Association of Ports and Harbors; International Harbour Masters’ Association; International Maritime Pilots’ Association; Smart Freight Centre; European Dredging Association; European Sea Ports Organisation; Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology; and Inland Waterways International . In addition, more than 40 other organisations have signed up as supporters of the initiative.