US-Japan going all out on green corridor deals

The governments of California and Japan have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on decarbonising ports in the two regions and developing green shipping corridors between them.

PHOTO: Signatories and witnesses of the letter of intent between California and Japan signed Tuesday in Tokyo. California State Transportation Agency 

Green shipping corridors are routes on which zero-carbon emission ships and other emission reduction programmes are tested and showcased to help authorities narrow down the best paths to decarbonise global trade channels.

Officials from California governor Gavin Newsom's office met representatives from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Tokyo and signed the letter of intent as part of a week-long trade mission in Japan.

“California’s strategic port and freight infrastructure investments and enhanced collaboration with Japan will help reduce the carbon footprint of a key sector of our economies and make the state’s green port projects more competitive for upcoming federal grants through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” said California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin.

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) help in developing the green shipping corridors and port decarbonisation efforts through a $1.2 billion port and freight infrastructure programme that was launched by the Newsom administration last year.

California and Japan will also share their expertise and best practices on cutting port-related pollution, CalSTA says in a statement. That will include strategies for developing offshore wind energy infrastructure and zero-emission fuels.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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