Methodology for Assessing the Carbon Footprint of Vessels in the Port of Bahía Blanca

Abstract

The Environmental Engineering Studies Group of the National Technological University, Bahía Blanca Regional Faculty, estimated the Carbon Footprint (CF) of the Port of Bahía Blanca. It included the industrial activities carried out in the port area for 2017 and 2020. Currently, data from 2023 are being worked on.

The results have shown that the total CF is strongly determined by industrial activities, either by their direct emissions or by the consumption of electric energy. However, when the specific activities of port movement are considered, the three modes of transport (ships, trucks and trains) explain 89% of the CF. According to 2017 results, trucks contributed 49.2%, ships 36.1% and trains 3.9%. Considering the distance traveled and the tonnage transported, ships are the most efficient in terms of emissions per tonne-kilometer.

The goal of this paper is to describe the methodology used to estimate the CF of maritime transport, highlighting aspects that would allow proposing mitigation strategies to improve its performance.