On Saturday 25th of June, the UN Ocean Conference Special Event focusing on local and regional governments for the protection of the oceans took place in the Cruise terminal of Matosinhos, Portugal. The AIVP was responsible, in partnership with the OECD, for one of the four sessions of the day. A special focus was placed on port cities and their role in the protection of the oceans and the development of a sustainable blue economy.
Representatives from the French and Kenyan governments, the research and port sectors, and global organizations such as the OECD and FAO gathered to express their commitment and the need to accelerate the energy transition and the protection of marine biodiversity. The main aim was to show that stronger efforts in multilevel governance and stakeholder engagement are necessary to translate sustainable blue economy national and international strategies into the local context guaranteeing that they are inclusive and circular.
The session was moderated by Bruno Delsalle, General Manager of the AIVP and José Manuel Pagés Sánchez, Director of the Agenda 2030 of the AIVP. Mario Girard, Vice-President of the AIVP, was one of the main speakers of the session emphasizing the need to assess port projects in other metrics than just GDP impact. He also emphasized that ports have a crucial role to play as catalysts of greener and decarbonized logistics, taking into consideration all other environmental and social externalities. In the same day, APDL (AIVP member) also presented their project to achieve the ambitious goal of being a carbon neutral port by 2035. These actions were also praised by the Portuguese Minister of environment, one of the keynote speakers of the day.
Bruno Delsalle(AIVP), Nuno Araújo (APDL), Mario Girard (Port du Québec), José Sanchez (AIVP)
