“We at the Panama
Canal are committed to sustainability, and therefore are laying the foundation,
creating the tools and identifying the changes needed to achieve efficiencies
that will allow us as an organization to reach carbon neutrality. This is a fundamental
strategy for the waterway's long-term operation and sustainability,” said
Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales. “This process will build
on our long-standing efforts to minimize our environmental impact, including
encouraging customers to use clean fuels and reduce their carbon footprint.”
The waterway said it purchased four electric vehicles as
part of a pilot program that will collect data to inform the migration of the
Canal’s entire fleet away from fossil fuel dependence. Part of its strategic
decarbonization plan also includes tugboats and launches that use alternative
fuels, the substitution of electricity production processes in favor of
photovoltaic plants, the use of hydraulic energy, and ensuring that all
facilities and infrastructure projects are environmentally responsible and
sustainable.
The Panama Canal is also pursuing ways to maximize its
operational, and thus environmental efficiencies, whether by implementing water
conservation measures or optimizing transits. Panama's Maritime Single Window
(VUMPA) has improved the efficiency and carbon footprint of transshipment
procedures by streamlining logistics paperwork for international customers
passing through the country, saving up to 3,260 hours and over 300,000 paper forms
each year.
The Panama Canal first began tracking its carbon footprint
in 2013 to align its operations with the global objectives of reducing
emissions to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Its plans to become carbon
neutral were bolstered in 2017 with the launch of its Emissions Calculator, a
tool that not only allows shipping lines to measure their greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions per route, but also strengthens the Canal’s analysis of the emissions
produced by its own day-to-day operations.
On April 22, the Panama Canal joined the Declaration of the
“50 First Carbon-Neutral Organizations”, an initiative led by Panama’s Ministry
of Environment to integrate national efforts to accelerate measurable climate
actions. As part of the national initiative, the Canal will develop an annual
greenhouse gas inventory, as well as an action plan with measurable targets to
reduce emissions. The Canal’s efforts will be factored into Panama’s National
Determined Contribution (NDC), established by the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), following the Paris Agreement.
The Panama Canal’s efforts have since stretched beyond
tracking to include initiatives aimed at helping and incentivizing shipping
lines to minimize their environmental footprint. Through its Green Connection
Environmental Recognition Program, the Canal recognizes customers who
demonstrate excellent environmental stewardship, including the use of
low-carbon fuels and environmentally conscious routes. As an enhancement to
this program, the Panama Canal is currently analyzing taking into account in
its dynamic pricing strategy the vessels' technology and its carbon footprint,
which makes it more efficient during transit.
The Panama Canal also promotes the International Maritime Organization’s
(IMO) efforts to minimize the environmental impact of the shipping industry,
from the implementation of its IMO 2020 regulation to its nearby transit
separation schemes and vessel speed reduction programs. By supporting the
latter, for example, the Canal helps shipping lines reduce their risk of
colliding with whales migrating near the waterway, while also lowering their
GHG and pollutant gas emissions by an average of 75%, depending on the type,
size, and fuel of each vessel.