• Type: Research
  • Client: ProjektNL (presentation purposes)
  • Core team: ir. Henk Hartzema, Dipl. -Ing. Aikaterina Myserli
  • Status: Completed (2019)

According to Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency- PBL (2018), the Netherlands accounts for 0.4% of the global greenhouse gases, a percentage that appears quite high compared to Germany’s 1.9% and France’s 0.9%. Although contemporary Dutch planning tradition has been strongly focused on sustainable land use, water remediation and renewable energy, the Dutch greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise higher than expected. What appears to be unprecedented is that there is little discussion about the role of the national ports on this matter. In fact, around 19% of the total CO2 emissions come from the activities in the Port of Rotterdam. Although widely advertised as a prospective “Green Port”, it is still based on fossil fuels, with more than 53% of all incoming cargo directly related to fossil fuels.

This research investigated a scenario of shifting towards renewable energy and thus, restructuring the port economy towards green energy and resources. It is calculated that in the event of fossil fuel depletion, more than 60% of the port area will need to host new uses or be given back to the city. Provided that an integrated framework of stakeholders is developed, the transition to a non-fossil fuel based port will be not only financially achievable but also environmentally and economically resilient in the future.