Honourable Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal launched ‘Harit Sagar’ the Green Port Guidelines at a function in New Delhi today. The guidelines were launched to meet the larger vision of achieving Zero Carbon Emission Goal set by the Ministry.

Harit Sagar Guidelines – 2023 envisages ecosystem dynamics in port development, operation, and maintenance while aligning with the ‘Working with Nature’ concept and minimising impact on biotic components of harbour ecosystem. It lays emphasis on use of clean or green energy in Port operation, developing Port capabilities for storage, handling, and bunkering greener fuels like Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia, and Green Methanol or Ethanol.

The guidelines’ main goals are to reduce trash through the four R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle in order to achieve zero waste discharge from port operations and to encourage monitoring based on EPIs. Additionally, it includes provisions for adopting the international Green Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard and covers parts of the National Green Hydrogen Mission related to ports, the creation of green hydrogen facilities, LNG bunkering, offshore wind energy, etc.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Sonowal said, ports are undertaking green initiatives and actively contributing to the fulfilment of the “Panchamrit” commitments announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that Harit Sagar Guidelines -2023 provide a comprehensive framework for Major Ports in the country, empowering them to create a comprehensive action plan aimed at achieving quantifiable reductions in carbon emissions over defined timelines.