California Air Resources Board Unanimously Adopts Regulation to Clean Up Toxic Port Pollution

Sacramento, Calif. -- Today, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously passed the Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth regulation, which will clean up pollution from idling ships in California’s ports by requiring all ships to either plug into shore power or to capture emissions over the next decade.

Ships in California’s ports are projected to be the top source of smog-causing pollution in Southern California by 2023. Plugging in one container ship, and turning off the onboard engines, reduces as much pollution as taking 33,000 cars off the road. 

Communities living by the ports, like West Oakland, Long Beach, Wilmington and Richmond, have needed relief from the pollution for decades. Now, COVID-19 and its deadly impact on polluted communities only increases the urgency for action. Plugging in all ships will prevent 250 premature deaths, 78 hospital visits, and 126 emergency room visits each year thereby saving California nearly $2.5 billion in healthcare costs over the next 10 years.

“Today’s decision is a good first step in cleaning up the pollution from ships in our ports, but there’s still more work to do,” said East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice Research and Policy Analyst, Taylor Thomas. “For years, community leaders have joined forces to call on our decision makers to take action and clean up our air, and CARB was the first to answer the call.”

From end to end, California’s freight network adds exorbitant amounts of toxic emissions into our air, especially in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and low-income communities. In July, CARB passed the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule to slash diesel emissions from trucks, and after today’s vote the focus will center on the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s consideration of the Indirect Source Rule, which will clean up pollution at warehouses.

“California’s path to a 100 percent clean, renewable future must include strong limits on the pollution coming from our freight and goods movement industries. From the heavy duty trucks traveling to and from the ports to the ships at dock in the state’s busy ports, California’s communities are ravaged by toxic emissions from some of the country’s worst polluters.” said Sierra Club Senior Campaign Representative Carlo De La Cruz. “The Air Resources Board has now passed two important rules, and now it’s time for the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the ports to do their part. We’re done waiting.”

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