The Port of Los Angeles recorded its lowest annual emissions per shipping container last year, a milestone in a two-decade effort to reduce pollution there, officials said during this week\u2019s L.A. harbor commission meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we mark 20 years of the Clean Air Action Plan, these results are a powerful reminder of how far we\u2019ve come,\u201d\u00a0 Los Angeles harbor commission President Beatrice Hsu said in a written statement. \u201cThese latest reductions are a tremendous achievement, but we know there\u2019s more work to do. We\u2019re committed to building on this progress as we move toward a zero-emissions future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each year, the port inventories air pollution from ships, trucks, trains, harbor craft and cargo-handling equipment to measure the results of its clean-air strategies. The new report is based on trade activity during 2025.<\/p>\n
Since 2005, the port has reduced diesel particulate matter emissions by 90%, nitrogen oxides by 72%, sulfur oxides by 98% and greenhouse gases by 16%, even as container volumes have increased 37%.<\/p>\n
The latest inventory also shows continued progress since 2017, when the Port of Los Angeles and neighboring Port of Long Beach updated their landmark Clean Air Action Plan to accelerate the transition toward zero-emissions operations. Emissions of DPM, NOx and SOx and GHGs are down 15%, 38%, 28% and 9%, respectively, since then, port officials said. In 2025 alone, emissions of DPM fell 2%, NOx declined 4%, SOx dropped 5% and GHGs decreased 3% compared with 2024. The reduction in NOx marked the lowest annual total for that pollutant since the Port began tracking emissions in 2005.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese results demonstrate that we can move high cargo volumes while continuing to reduce emissions,\u201d Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a written statement. \u201cThis progress reflects years of investment, innovation and collaboration across our maritime industry. We\u2019re proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished together, and we\u2019re focused on accelerating the transition to cleaner, more sustainable port operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
The South Coast Air Quality Management District, on its website,<\/a> says that the twin ports of L.A. and Long Beach make up the single largest fixed source of air pollution in Southern California.<\/p>\n \u201cCollectively, sources at the port are responsible for more than 100 tons per day of smog- and particulate-forming nitrogen oxides,\u201d AQMD says, \u201cmore than the daily emissions from all 6 million cars in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n All of the reports can be seen at the port\u2019s website<\/a>. Information also is available at the Clean Air Action Plan<\/a> site.<\/p>\n In 2025, the Port of L.A. handled nearly 10.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, the standard measurement for international shipping containers.<\/p>\n Highlights of the port\u2019s 2025 emissions inventory include:<\/p>\n Trucks: Newer, cleaner trucks continue replacing their diesel counterparts, resulting in annual clean air gains. This includes a substantial decrease in DPM and NOx \u2013 down 16% and 25% \u2013 in a single year. All pollutants are down since 2005, with dramatic declines of DPM, NOx and SOx \u2013 down 98%, 94% and 97% respectively. Regional, state and federal air regulatory agencies review the inventory each year for verification before the port releases its findings.<\/p>\n The port is advancing the initiatives by investing in technology, operational improvements, incentives, grants and partnerships. That includes developing green shipping corridors with major ports in Asia, along with a landmark cooperative agreement between the San Pedro Bay ports and AQMD to support cleaner ships and trucks, and expand charging and fueling infrastructure throughout the region.<\/p>\n The Port of Long Beach will release its emissions report on Nov. 9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Port of Los Angeles recorded its lowest annual emissions per shipping container last year, a milestone in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,643,3172,23,131,133,132,47,137,100,1438,1439,17411],"class_list":["post-506247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-environment","tag-harbor-area","tag-local-news","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-news","tag-port-of-los-angeles","tag-san-pedro","tag-wilmington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCargo handling equipment: The port recorded a 20% increase in the number of electric cargo-handling units in 2025. Currently, zero-emissions pieces make up 14% of all cargo handling equipment at the port, and there are 10 times as many pieces of cleaner hybrid equipment since 2017, the port report says.
\nHarbor craft emissions of DPM and NOx reported being down because of fleet turnover and using renewable diesel in all harbor craft. As of 2025, 55% of the tugs, barges, ferries and other work boats operating at the port met stricter emissions standards, up from 20% in 2017 and 0% in 2005.
\nShips using cleaner marine fuels and shore power also posted gains. Emissions of DPM are down 19%, and NOx and SOx by 29% since 2017.
\nTrain emissions in 2025 were also down by 1%, the report said, a slight decrease in rail activity over the previous year. Since 2005, cleaner fuels, greater operational efficiency, and newer and cleaner locomotives, the report said, have cut rail emissions of DPM, NOx and SOx by 45%, 52%, and 99%.<\/p>\n