May 11, 2023: With the objective of achieving zero carbon emissions, the ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the ‘Harit Sagar’ Green Port Guidelines on May 10, 2023.
The Harit Sagar Guidelines 2023 will focus on encouraging eco-friendly practices in port development, operation and maintenance. The new norms are aimed at using clean and green energy, including green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol/ethanol. They will provide a framework to enable major ports to come up with a comprehensive action plan aimed at achieving quantified reduction in carbon emission over defined timelines, through focused implementation and close monitoring of Green Initiatives and to achieve Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG).
Moreover, the guidelines are aimed at lowering waste through ‘Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle’ to attain zero waste discharge from port operations and promote monitoring based on Environmental Performance Indicators. The aspects of the National Green Hydrogen Mission pertaining to ports, development of green hydrogen facilities, LNG bunkering, Offshore Wind Energy, etc., will be covered, allowing provision for adopting global Green Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.
Note that, in April 2023, Sonowal said that green hydrogen/ammonia bunkers and refuelling facilities would be set up across major ports by 2035 under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. This programme will facilitate demand creation, production, utilisation and export of green hydrogen.
See also: Major ports to have green hydrogen by 2035: Sonowal
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