Ports, Shipping, and Air Emissions

Co-sponsored by the DC Bar’s Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Section Energy Committee

More than two billion tons of cargo move through U.S. ports annually. With increasing globalization and short-sea shipping, the movement of goods via ships is expected to double in the next twenty years. This will mean more and larger vessels on the water. Shipping causes direct and indirect impacts on the marine ecosystems. In addition to coastal air quality, discharges from ships can alter marine chemistry, and, as a major mobile source of greenhouse gases, it is an important industry to consider in light of climate change. In trying to address emissions from ships, questions as to legal authority and jurisdiction arise as highlighted by the recent Ninth Circuit decision that requires California to obtain a waiver from EPA to implement a rule requiring ships to use low-sulfur diesel near the coast. Panelists discussed this and other legal and policy obstacles to and opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas and other air emissions from ships.

Moderator:
Jay Pendergrass, Environmental Law Institute

Panelists:
Kathleen Bailey, Senior Management Analyst, EPA’s Sector Strategies Program
John W. Butler, Sher and Blackwell, LLP
Eric Bilsky, Senior Attorney, Oceana

Download the mp3 recording of this seminar.

Please click here for more information on the
2008 Ocean Seminar Series.