From local action to global vision: Advancing clean shipping this World Maritime Day

With new shore power projects at home and ongoing advocacy on the global stage, Pacific Environment is charting a cleaner course for shipping

Shipping is the engine of global trade but it's also one of the dirtiest industries on the planet, responsible for nearly 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and major sources of toxic air pollution. At least 31 million people in the United States live within three miles of a major port. Every day, people living near ports breathe in harmful diesel exhaust. Fossil-fueled shipping not only harms portside communities, but also worsens the climate impacts faced by vulnerable nations facing the escalating impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, from rising sea levels to extreme weather.

This World Maritime Day, we're reminded that the shipping industry must play a leading role in building a healthier, climate-safe future. The good news: Momentum for clean shipping is accelerating. From local actions in California and Washington, to national legislation in Congress, to groundbreaking but unfinished progress at the International Maritime Organization, the world is beginning to turn the tide on dirty shipping.

Pacific Environment works at all levels of government and leads multiple campaigns, like the Ports for People and Ship It Zero campaigns, to push decision-makers, ship carriers and retailers toward zero-emission shipping. For nearly 15 years, we've also been one of only a handful of eNGOs with permanent consultative status at the IMO, ensuring that frontline voices, climate science and community health remain at the center of global negotiations.

International: A step forward at the IMO

On April 11, 2025, the International Maritime Organization, or IMO, made history by approving the IMO Net-Zero Framework - the first legally-binding agreement to reduce emissions and place a price on carbon pollution across the global shipping sector.

This was a breakthrough moment: For the first time, an entire industry agreed to a global carbon price. Yet the framework falls short of aligning with the Paris Agreement, and much of the hard work lies ahead. The text will still need to be adopted during an extraordinary session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee meetings this October. Immediately following the close of the MEPC meeting, development will begin on the framework's guidelines to set further details, such as the targeted reward dollar amount for zero- and near-zero-emission fuels and technologies, the mechanism for dispensing that reward, allowed uses of revenue and the mechanisms for disbursement, along with many other details.

Pacific Environment was on the ground in London this spring, standing alongside the ACP Plus group, comprised of African, Caribbean and Pacific Island nations. These climate leaders fought hard for ambition, reminding the world that the costs of inaction on climate change far outweigh the costs of cleaner shipping. Without their leadership and the advocacy of frontline voices, including youth from the Global South, the framework would have been even weaker.

In advance of the IMO meetings happening this fall, Pacific Environment hosted a webinar, "Charting the course to net zero: MEPC 83 outcomes & looking ahead to October." The session was moderated by Pacific Environment's Climate Policy Director Davina Hurt and featured the following speakers: Jamie Yates, climate & renewable energy manager at Pacific Environment; Femke Spiegelenberg, project manager, Getting to Zero Coalition with Global Maritime Forum; and Emma Fenton, senior director of climate diplomacy at Opportunity Green. The session reviewed draft details of the Net Zero Framework agreed to at MEPC 83 and explored what's next at the October extraordinary session. Interested in a deeper dive? Watch our webinar here.

We will continue to push for stronger, more equitable action at the IMO while working at state, federal and local levels to move shipping to zero emissions at all levels.

Federal: momentum for clean shipping

The push for clean shipping isn't just happening overseas. Momentum is also building in Congress. This summer, Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Alex Padilla reintroduced the Clean Shipping Act, which charts a path to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from large ships calling at U.S. ports. The bill sets ambitious but achievable milestones requiring ships to be zero-emission at berth by 2035 and fully zero-emission by 2050.

At the same time, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Alex Padilla, along with Reps. Doris Matsui and Kevin Mullin, reintroduced the International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act. This legislation would levy a pollution fee on ships offloading cargo at U.S. ports, raising an estimated $100 billion over 10 years that would be used to fund projects to decarbonize the maritime sector and help protect U.S. port communities.

Together, these bills send a strong signal: The United States is poised to lead in confronting shipping's climate and health impacts.They also lay the groundwork for stronger state action, creating federal momentum that California is uniquely positioned to build on.

California: Leadership from the frontlines

California has never waited for permission to lead. From pioneering the nation's first smog rules to setting bold clean energy standards, the state has consistently shown the world what is possible when vision meets action. Today, with the largest ports in the country, California once again finds itself on the frontlines, leading on shipping and port decarbonization with global cooperation in mind.

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, is exploring new regulatory and voluntary measures to curb emissions from oceangoing vessels in transit to California ports. At the same time, state leaders and agencies like the California Energy Commission and local port authorities are being urged to prioritize investments in clean fuel infrastructure, zero-emission shipping solutions and enforcement mechanisms that ensure accountability. While formal rulemaking can take years, these early steps by California are critical in pushing the shipping industry away from fossil fuels and toward a zero-emission future.

The urgency could not be clearer. At the ports of Oakland, Long Beach and Los Angeles, ships are the single largest source of cancer-causing emissions. Nearby communities - including West Long Beach, Wilmington, San Pedro and Barrio Logan - bear the heaviest health burdens. Black Long Beach residents are hospitalized with asthma at eight times the rate of white residents, and Latino residents at twice the rate. Globally, the toll is staggering. Shipping pollution contributes to 265,000 premature deaths and 6.4 million childhood asthma cases every year. These are not abstract numbers - they represent neighbors, families and futures put at risk.

California's ports have always been engines of commerce. Now, they must also be engines of change. Pacific Environment is advocating for California to require ships calling at its ports to be zero-emission by 2040. Clean shipping is not a threat to California's competitiveness - it is the foundation of it. The global market is shifting, and California has an opportunity to define the future of trade and transportation by leading, not just keeping pace. By acting now, the state can protect frontline communities, secure healthier futures, drive economic gains and assist in setting the standard for ports around the world.

Washington: Scaling up shore power

In Washington, progress is accelerating. From cruise ships plugging into new shore power in the Port of Seattle to container ships plugging into electricity in the Port of Tacoma, the region's ports are charging ahead with investments that will deliver cleaner air, ensure healthier communities and create jobs. These investments show what's possible when ports commit to cleaner operations and why our communities deserve nothing less. Seattle and Tacoma are proving that strong economic ports can also be clean ports.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, or NWSA, has already brought shore power online at key terminals, allowing container ships to plug in and shut down their diesel engines while at-berth. Now, NWSA is scaling up with a $34 million investment to expand shore power to Terminal 18 in Seattle and Washington United Terminal in Tacoma.

Shore power is one of the most effective tools for cutting emissions at ports, slashing both greenhouse gases and toxic diesel pollution. Expanding port electrification supports high-quality union jobs and is a critical step toward the alliance's goal of phasing out all maritime emissions by 2050 - or sooner.

Looking ahead

This World Maritime Day, we celebrate progress while recognizing how much work still lies ahead. From the bold action at the state level in California and Washington, to leadership emerging in Congress, to negotiations at the IMO, momentum for clean shipping is building and unmistakable. Yet,the challenge is far from over. Shipping remains one of the world's largest and fast-growing sources of pollution and frontline communities bear the heaviest costs.

Pacific Environment will continue to fight for ambitious, just and urgent action to hold polluters accountable and ensure shipping transitions to a truly zero-emission future.