‘Go Green’

Abstract

Maritime (or ocean) transport is the backbone of international trade and the global supply chain but also plays a crucial role in the tourism industry. Shipping and ports are also essential elements of the Blue Economy and play a vital function in maintaining blue growth across all sectors of the economy. Compared to bulk transportation, shipping is relatively energy efficient in terms of CO2 emissions. Yet, maritime shipping, both for commodity and passenger flow, raises concerns about human health and environmental issues. Greenhouse gas (GHS) emissions from the maritime sector are significant: about 2.8% of global GHG emissions (Morante, 2022), which may rise to 17% by 2050. It is widely accepted that the shipping industry has five main environmental impacts: (i) air pollution, (ii) Noise pollution, (iii) Vessel discharges, (iv) Congestion (port and the port hinterland), and (v) Marine ecosystem (Jägerbrand et al., 2019). Several studies have pointed out the greening of ports and maritime logistics, highlighting the necessity for sustainable initiatives to decrease the environmental footprint of port operations (Davarzani et al., 2016; Parhamfar, 2023). Within the outlined framework, this short paper intends to make an overview of the ‘Maritime Green Corridors’ (MGCs) concept, launched officially in 2021, tracing the origins from environmental, transportation and planning studies, and discuss the potential impact on land and the sea. The aim is to understand the state-of-the-art studies and map a global glossary and taxonomy of the relatively new phenomenon of the MGCs, which can be used as a conceptual framework for future research lines in urban and regional studies. […]