Officials at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach recorded an unprecedented surge in harmful emissions during 2021. They blame COVID-19.
When Janet Schaaf-Gunter peered through the window at San Pedro Bay last year, she saw so many cargo ships it looked as if Southern California was on the brink of an invasion.
In addition to air toxins, the reports said greenhouse gas emissions were up 39% in 2021 at the Port of L.A. and 35% at the Port of Long Beach. The emissions surge has highlighted unexpected difficulties the ports are facing attempting to reduce harmful emissions and greenhouse gasses. While an initiative to increase the use of zero-emission electric trucks has been stymied by the expense of such technology, the ports also abandoned clean-air powering systems for ships at berth when a record heat wave threatened to overload the power grid in September.
But they also say they have created new procedures they hope will prevent congestion during times of heavy ship traffic. But the twin ports are also an economic juggernaut and support about 3 million jobs, officials say. The complex serves as a gateway for about 40% of the nation’s containerized cargo imports.
“The health impact of port emission continues every day. It doesn’t stop. It doesn’t say, ‘Gee, we’re sorry. We understand because of the supply chain, you get a pass on this.’ The port is the steward for the region. Yes, they are working hard to provide jobs and goods for the entire country. But they also have committed to this historically to reducing their emissions. And I think that has seemed to slipped in their priorities.
However, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which provides power to the Port of L.A., did not ask the port to halt its plug-in policy during the recent heat wave — although it did issue a Flex Alert calling on consumers to voluntarily conserve power during peak hours.