Barragán Introduces Climate Smart Ports Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán May 27, introduced a bill to create the first federal program dedicated to greening our nation’s ports and reducing the toxic pollution that severely harms the health of people in port communities. The Climate Smart Ports Act would invest in zero-emissions technology and infrastructure, protect dockworkers, fight climate change, address a source of environmental injustice, and create good-paying green jobs.  

“In many ways, the Port of Los Angeles is the heartbeat of my district,” said Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán. “Ports are job creators, but also major sources of air pollution with serious public health consequences, particularly for the communities of color that tend to live nearby. The people in these neighborhoods live close to working diesel trucks, ships, trains, and cargo-handling equipment spewing poisons into our air and water. And we’ve paid the price. By greening our ports, we can tackle this environmental injustice.”

The Climate Smart Ports Act would create a $1 billion-a-year zero-emissions ports infrastructure program to assist ports and port users with the following:

Replacing diesel-burning cargo handling equipment, port harbor craft, drayage trucks, and other equipment with zero emissions equipment and technology;

Funding the installation of shore power for docked ships, and electric charging stations for vehicles and cargo equipment;

Developing clean energy microgrids onsite at the ports to power their facilities;

Authorizing an additional $50 million a year for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, specifically for reducing emissions at ports.

Implementing strong labor provisions to protect dockworkers from automation, require a prevailing wage for installation work generated through grants, and encourage the use of union labor and local hiring.

The full bill can be found here, www.tinyurl.com/Climate-smart-ports-act 

“We are often given a false choice between a clean environment and a strong economy. With the Climate Smart Ports Act, we don’t have to choose,” Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán said.

Barragán was joined by 21 original cosponsors of the Climate Smart Ports Act, including Congressmembers Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Jared Huffman (Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Alan Lowenthal (Calif.), Jamie Raskin (Md.), Ed Case (Hawaii), Adam Smith (Wash.), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.), Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.), Harley Rouda (Calif.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Joseph P. Kennedy (Mass.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Cedric Richmond (La.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Alcee L. Hastings (Fla.), Suzanne Bonamci (Ore.) and Barbara Lee (Calif.).

The Climate Smart Ports Act is supported by the American Lung Association, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Moving Forward Network, League of Conservation Voters, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, Food & Water Action, Greenpeace, Eastyard Communities for Environmental Justice, Friends of the Earth, Jobs to Move America CA, Green For All, San Pedro Indivisible, and the San Pedro & Peninsula Homeowners Association.