At the end of May the Valencia Port Authority (VPA) presented the Climeport Project in Valencia; an environmental project funded by the European Union involving the main Mediterranean ports with the aim of palliating the effects of climate change. Representatives from the port authorities of Algeciras, Marseilles, El Pireo, Koper and Livorno met in Valencia to launch this decisive project with European funding to the tune of €1.2m (from a total of €1.6m). The Instituto de Tecnolog? El?trica (ITE) (Instiute of Electric Technology), the Agencia Valenciana de la Energ? (AVEN) (Valencia Energy Agency and the Agencia Eslovena de la Energ? (Slovenia Energy Agency) are also taking part in the initiative which is led by the VPA.

The Contribution of Mediterranean Ports to Combating Climate Change is the central theme of the project which is due to run for the next three years. One of its principal aims is to assess the importance of ports in this geographical area in the struggle against climate change by monitoring greenhouse gases from port activity. Climeport will also promote the use of less polluting energy and the use of cleaner and more balanced transport.  The programme will also allow tools to be designed for measuring and monitoring the results obtained through the implementation of environmental improvement plans.

Actions to be carried out include an Emissions Diagnosis to reveal the volume of greenhouse gas emissions from Mediterranean ports. The project entitled Carbon Footprint also falls within the Climeport project and the initiative will allow a precise determination to be made of the tons of CO2 (direct and indirect) generated in Mediterranean port areas. Once the first results have been obtained, specific action plans will be drawn up for each of the port authorities via pilot projects.  The plan will also assess the costs and benefits of each of the measures implemented.

Apart from the ports directly involved in the project, Climeport will also foster collaboration and experience sharing with other world ports. The programme anticipates the organisation of conferences and seminars to collectively examine questions such as the use of renewable energies in ports, efficiency in port buildings and facilities, water treatment and recycling, and the study of CO2 emissions in the transport and logistics sectors as well as other sectors to identify systems which are energetically more efficient in relation to the environment.

The Climeport programme falls within the framework of the Med programme of the European Union.  The Med programme, with a total investment of over 250 million euros, aims to foster the competitiveness of Mediterranean countries, ensure growth and employment for the coming generations and actively promote environmental protection within a framework of sustainable development.

This VPA initiative falls within the framework of its commitment to the environment. For over ten years, the VPA has carried out a wide range of environmental projects aimed at integrating environmental protection and care into port activity. Such projects include Ecoport II, an initiative which has become an environmental point of reference in the port sector on a national and international scale enabling an Environmental Management System to be implemented in every company in the ports of Gand?, Sagunto and Valencia. The VPA뭩 achievements in the area of environmental achievement include certification of ISO 14001 in April 2006, PERS (Previous Environmental Review System) in December 2006 and EMAS in April 2007, among the most prestigious environmental achievements in Europe.

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