Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes: putting climate change at the heart of the port’s activity

Interview with Marie-Luce PENCHARD, President of the Supervisory Board, Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes (GPMG). Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes recently ratified the AIVP Agenda 2030. Both the initiatives undertaken by the port in recent years and its current projects are firmly in line with the ten goals that make up our Agenda. This is particularly true of several projects which tie in with three specific Agenda goals, namely adapting to climate change, the energy transition and circular economy, and protecting biodiversity. GUADELOUPE PORT CARAÏBES is an active member of AIVP since 2009 AIVP – Guadeloupe is particularly at risk from the impacts of climate change, and the port especially. Can you remind us of the challenges you are facing and the solutions you are planning or have already implemented, both in terms of the port infrastructures themselves and the City Port interface? Marie-Luce PENCHARD, President of the Supervisory Board, Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes – Climate change is having a growing impact on natural resources, especially water and aquatic ecosystems. In our Caribbean region, extreme meteorological events are becoming increasingly intense and frequent, threatening territories, economic and social development, and the environment. The Guadeloupe archipelago, in the eastern Caribbean between the tropic of Cancer and the equator, is rich in biodiversity with varied landscapes ranging from mountains and tropical rainforests, to fine sandy beaches, rivers and waterfalls, mangroves, hills, plateaux, coral reefs, and rocky coastline. It is also home to remarkable land and marine wildlife, with numerous endemic species. No fewer than 23 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises protected by international conventions (CITES and the Cartagena Convention) are found in Guadeloupe’s waters. Guadeloupe is part of the AGOA sanctuary created in 2010, to improve knowledge and supervision of activities that can potentially harm marine mammals. This rich biodiversity means that the local environment is particularly sensitive to human activities and climate change. Our infrastructures and port facilities, spread across five sites, are therefore concerned by the issue of global warming for several reasons: local agricultural produce exported through the port (fruit, vegetables, sugar cane) is sensitive to climate change; extreme climatic events can severely disrupt the port’s activity (interrupting traffic, causing damage, etc.); rising sea levels damage concrete surfaces in contact with salt water and cause submersion risks in certain places (notably access roads) and utility networks (power, sewage, etc.). So adapting to climate change means reducing our vulnerability and exposure to potential impacts on the port, and more generally the associated territories, by: protecting residents and direct and indirect users of the port, including those linked to the City/Port interface; protecting production facilities and infrastructures; protecting the natural environment; contributing to mitigation efforts, against a backdrop of rising port activity. So the Supervisory Board that I chair has designed its five-year strategy around some major ambitions, including adapting to climate change. The adaptation measures taken as part of its Air Climate Energy Plan (PACE) will allow us to limit the cost of its impacts and obtain feedback, so we can then adapt the measures accordingly. Adaptation measures already taken or planned include: direct restoration of natural environments: marine and land ecosystems (mangroves, grassland, coral reefs); reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting the port’s carbon footprint by developing renewable energies and introducing carbon accounting; creating a circular economy in the port community to limit emissions from energy consumption, waste exports and inter-business mobility. AIVP – You are keen to get the port on board with the energy transition. You also responded to a call for projects issued by the ADEME, with a plan to develop a circular economy in the Industrial Port Zone of Jarry. What are the specific constraints for this territory? And what are the key measures contained in the circular economy programme? Marie-Luce PENCHARD, Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes - Published in April 2018,…