Blue Economy Forum

Published: 2022-05-19 Corporate author(s): Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (European Commission) Download in English: More info on the publication, and other languages: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/156eecbd-d7eb-11ec-a95f-01aa75ed71a1 European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Addamo, A., Calvo Santos, A., Guillén, J., et al., The EU blue economy report 2022 , Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2771/793264 The ocean is at the foundation of life in the planet and plays a vital role in safeguarding that some of our most basic needs are met. The Blue Economy comprises all activities that are linked to the water, the sea and the oceans. It relies not only on more traditional forms of utilisation (e.g. fishing and aquaculture), but also combines a broader vision of activities that can offer important sources of sustainable economic development for Member States and coastal communities in particular. The Blue Economy can contribute to a large extent to Europe’s green ambitions. A sustainable Blue Economy enables society to obtain value from the oceans and coastal regions, whilst respecting their long-term ability to regenerate and endure such activities through the implementation of sustainable practices. This implies that human activities must be managed in a way that guarantees the health of the oceans and safeguards long-term economic productivity, so that the potential they offer can be realised and sustained over time. The annual EU Blue Economy Report aims to continuously improve the measuring and monitoring of the socio-economic performance of the Blue Economy (for the 2009-2019 period in the current edition), while taking its environmental impacts into account. The EU is determined to deliver on European Green Deal, with the adoption of the ‘Fit for 55 package’, implementation of the Zero Pollution Action Plan, and with other initiatives being prepared, at the same time as it ensures a transition based on sustainable economic growth and employment. Besides, the insight of the Sustainable Blue Economy Communication, can help achieve this sustainable growth objective while protecting and restoring nature, fighting pollution, and tackling climate change.

It is a pleasure for The Piraeus Port Authority S.A. and the Fundación Valencia port as coordinator of the Green C Ports project to invite you to the Event on Environmental Sensor Network and IT Platform Engineering and Piloting that will take place online on 12th May 2022. The GREEN C PORTS global project aims to provide a suitable array of digitalization tools and technologies to support port environmental sustainability and performance of port operations in the TEN-T Core Network. The ports of Valencia, Piraeus, Venice, Bremerhaven, and Wilhelmshaven are collaborating in this project to reduce the impact of port operations on their cities, monitor emissions from ports and vessels, optimize the handling of cargo in core ports, and facilitate access and egress of cargo in and out of these core ports. This hybrid event will show the final results of the first activity that has been completed as part of the Green C Ports project: · IT specifications and installation of the environmental sensor network at the ports participating in the project · Implementation of the Port Environmental Performance (PEP) IT platform that will receive real-time data from the sensor networks and from existing operating systems in each port (i.e. PCS, PMIS, and TOS) · PEP IT platform end-to-end integration with existing systems and sensor networks The previously mentioned results are the first step of the pilots aiming to: · Decreasing port traffic congestion and reducing CO2 emissions for trucks entering and leaving the Port of Valencia · Optimising vessel calls at the Port of Venice before and after port closure due to bad meteorological conditions · Predicting air quality in the Ports of Valencia and Piraeus and generating notifications to stakeholders when certain tolerance emission levels are exceeded · Predicting noise levels in the Ports of Valencia and Piraeus and generating notifications to stakeholders when certain tolerance noise emission levels will be exceeded · Predicting how ship-to-shore (STS) crane productivity will be affected by wave agitation, currents and wind and sending warnings 48 hours in advance to vessels programmed to call at the Ports of Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven · Informing shippers about the real emissions generated by their shipments in door-to-door transport chains between the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic Islands The event counts with a keynote speech by Stefano Campagnolo, Project Manager at CINEA, European Commission, on Financing programmes managed by CINEA to support the greening of Europe. Please save the date: 12th May 2022 and register at: https://greencportsproject.eu/events/environmental-sensor-network-and-it-platform-engineering-piloting/

The IMO International Day for Women in Maritime is observed on 18 May every year. The first day is being held in 2022. The day celebrates women in the industry and is intended to promote the recruitment, retention and sustained employment of women in the maritime sector, raise the profile of women in maritime, strengthen IMO's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) and support work to address the current gender imbalance in maritime. Let's celebrate! More about: https://www.imo.org/en/About/Events/Pages/International-Day-for-Women-in-Maritime-2022.aspx