The nation’s 300 public and private shipping ports have been centers of pollution for decades. There, the goods Americans want—from cars to building materials to orange juice—are moved by mostly diesel-fueled cranes, trucks and locomotives that emit planet-warming carbon dioxide and cancerous toxins that contribute to heart disease, asthma and shorter life spans.
In addition to thousands of longshoremen, truckers and other workers, port operations affect some 31 million Americans living nearby, according to the EPA, often in largely Black, Latino and low-income communities.
Some ports have managed to get a little cleaner through state regulation, diesel pollution reduction efforts, international maritime requirements to cut emissions, and private investment. In voluntary emissions reporting, hubs including the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York and New Jersey say some aspects of their operations have significantly improved over the past two decades.
The shift to electricity is part of efforts to clean up the air around America’s ports, which have long struggled with pollution in nearby neighborhoods, jeopardizing the health of people living there. The landmark climate law championed by former President Joe Biden earmarked $3 billion to boost those efforts.
The question is this: Will President Donald Trump’s administration seek to cancel or claw back some of that money?
Some ports have already spent hundreds of millions to replace older, dirtier equipment. Members of the American Association of Port Authorities, representing more than 130 public port authorities in the U.S. and beyond, are planning at least $50 billion more of decarbonization projects. Many are easy: for example, drayage trucks—which drive short distances between ports and nearby warehouses—are good candidates for electrification since they don’t have to go far between charges.
