Port industry survey on climate change impacts and adaptation

Description

Ports are critical infrastructure assets that serve as catalysts of economic growth and development. At the same time, they are also exposed to the risk of the impacts of climate variability and change, particularly in view of their location in coastal zones, low-lying areas and deltas. Given the concentration of populations, assets and services associated with ports, the size and value of built infrastructure, and the key role of ports as part of the network of international supply-chains, responding effectively to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on ports and their land-based access points is of strategic economic importance.

Against this background and drawing upon its earlier work, the UNCTAD (UN Conference on Trade and Development) secretariat carried out an online port industry survey to help improve the understanding of weather and climate related impacts on ports and to identify data availability and information needs, as well as determine current levels of resilience and preparedness among ports.

The report relates the key findings of the survey, together with some additional information about climate trends and climate-related impacts on seaports and some concluding remarks. The respondent port sample collectively handles more than 16% of global seaborne trade and can be considered as representative. Although the majority of respondents had been impacted by weather/climate related events, including extreme ones, the study revealed important gaps in terms of relevant information available to seaports of all sizes and across regions, with implications for effective climate risk assessment and adaptation planning.

Reference information