Panama’s green enhancements

(Posted on 23/05/19)

The Panama Canal Authority has announced enhancements to its industry-leading Green Connection Environmental Recognition Programme. The award-winning initiative encourages the shipping industry to mitigate the environmental impact of their operations through an incentive-based system that includes the Green Connection Award, the Environmental Premium Ranking and the Emissions Calculator.

Starting in September 2019, the Emissions Calculator will feature georeferenced data to improve the quality and precision of the carbon emissions data of vessels transiting the Canal. The tool aims to give customers - and the Canal - clear insight into their carbon footprint to incentivize environmental stewardship and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG).

The Environmental Premium Ranking will factor in the use of low-carbon fuels and environmentally conscious transit operations starting mid-September. This ranking affords customers with high environmental efficiency standards the opportunity to improve their position within the Panama Canal's Customer Ranking System.

The Canal will also bring about updates to other carbon-reduction and watershed conservation initiatives. The Environmental Economic Incentives Program, which allows local communities in the watershed region to engage in reforestation, environmental education and economic incentive programs to improve their quality of life, will start the second phase of its aggressive reforestation efforts in the second half of 2019. The program's goal is to reach more than 4,000 reforested hectares within the next five years. Additionally, the Panama Canal will commission a study to quantify and analyse the environmental and wildlife conservation benefits of the Panama Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) approved in 2014 by the IMO aimed at protecting whales from ship collisions…