CRG Seminar: Ports and the politics of decarbonisation: A spatial justice analysis

Since the Paris Agreement, decarbonisation has become an obligatory pathway toward a ‘green’ maritime future. This talk will examine the uneven geographies of port decarbonisation between Europe and Africa, showing that these transitions are not merely technical processes, but political and spatial ones shaped by regulation, infrastructure, and financial power. Drawing on evidence from Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Tema, and Mombasa, and framed by spatial and climate justice, the speaker Eric Tamatey Lawer will discuss how European ports -supported by multi-scalar governance and concessional finance- have moved toward system-scale measures such as carbon capture, hydrogen production, and onshore power supply. In contrast, African ports are advancing more gradual initiatives -terminal electrification, small-scale solar projects, and baseline inventories- within constrained regulatory and financial contexts. The speaker argues that global decarbonisation agendas, largely driven by European and international policy frameworks, risk reproducing historical inequalities embedded in maritime space. The talk concludes by suggesting that just and feasible transitions require differentiated financial, technological, and institutional support aligned with regional capacities.

Image: NMT Shipping