Carbon Footprint of Port Websites (PDF)

TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 31 August 2023 DOI 10.3389/fe...

TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 31 August 2023 DOI 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 Carbon footprint generated by OPEN ACCESS individual port websites. The EDITED BY Artur Badyda, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland missing idea in the concept of REVIEWED BY Nitin Agarwala, green ports National Maritime Foundation, India Lang Xu, Shanghai Maritime University, China Małgorzata Bielenia 1* and Anna Podolska 2 1 *CORRESPONDENCE Division of Maritime Economy, Department of Maritime Transport and Seaborne Trade, Faculty of Małgorzata Bielenia, Economics, University of Gdańsk, Sopot, Poland, 2Department of Human Rights and Intellectual Property [email protected] Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland RECEIVED 24 April 2023 ACCEPTED 17 August 2023 PUBLISHED 31 August 2023 CITATION One of the objectives of European Union policy, as well as the assumptions of Bielenia M and Podolska A (2023), Carbon cooperation as part of United Nations, is to ensure sustainable development. The footprint generated by individual port gradual decarbonisation of the economy is a significant element in this case. This is websites. The missing idea in the concept of green ports. particularly important in transport, including maritime transport. That is why the Front. Environ. Sci. 11:1211454. concept of Green Ports is so important. It contains various infrastructure solutions doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 that maximize the benefits of maritime transport while minimizing environmental COPYRIGHT damage. However, the term Green Ports is defined in the literature it is difficult to © 2023 Bielenia and Podolska. This is an have a clear definition, a formula that defines the term and there is still a place for open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons scientific research in this area. The purpose of the research is to analyze the Attribution License (CC BY). The use, assumptions of the Green Ports concept in economic terms, but also in legal distribution or reproduction in other terms. The authors want to focus on Internet infrastructure as a link in reducing the forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are carbon footprint in maritime transport. For this purpose, they studied the carbon credited and that the original publication footprint generated by the websites of selected seaports (seaports considered by in this journal is cited, in accordance with the Transport and Environment report (https://www.transportenvironment.org/ accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted discover/port-carbon-emissions-ranking/) the most polluting European ports and which does not comply with these terms. ports considered by the Leading Maritime Cities 2022 report to be the most technologically advanced (DNV, Menon Economics, 2022 https://www.dnv.com/ maritime/publications/leading-maritime-cities-of-the-world-2022.html). Both at the United Nations and at the level of organizations of a regional nature (such as the European Union), the use of new technologies is closely linked to economic development or social progress. For example, access to the Internet has been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as a human right. This is because it has been recognized that the Internet provides an opportunity to realize other rights, such as freedom of expression, the right to information, and education. However, there are also risks associated with the use of new technologies, if only in terms of the right to privacy, intellectual property, security or a clean environment. According to the authors, far less attention is paid to the risks than to the benefits. That’s why it’s worth building awareness to prevent harm rather than repair it. An important aspect of the research is to show that websites consume large amounts of energy. In addition, they have a negative impact on the environment, influencing the production of a significant amount of carbon dioxide. The main finding from the empirical part is that there is a certain relationship between the generation of CO2 by the ports and the “cleanliness” of their websites. KEYWORDS green ports, carbon footprint, new technologies, pollution, environment Frontiers in Environmental Science 01 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 1 Introduction climate change. When analysing this supply chain (i.e., ships and tankers entering and leaving ports), it should be kept in mind that this This is not an article arguing for the discontinuation of the process is responsible for significant emissions of harmful gases. This Internet and the technologies that use it. The digital acceleration, industry also leaves its mark on the environment and climate when which can be seen, for example, in the emergence and diffusion of the ship is already on the port quay (i.e., during loading, unloading or the GPT 3 generative AI model and now the (generally available) refuelling). The European Environment Agency report’s authors also GPT-4, has also led to a revival of discussions (imminent) about the noted that it will be necessary to adapt port infrastructure to the risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence. On a normative expected rise in sea levels due to climate change (https://www.eea. level, the result of these discussions is a draft regulation establishing europa.eu/highlights/eu-maritime-transport-first-environmental). harmonized rules on artificial intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Moreover, scholars have discussed also the impacts of the Act, 2021). The dangers of new technologies, no longer limited to COVID-19 epidemic on the shipping industry (Xu et al., 2023). addiction, are therefore recognized. However, there is still not The COVID-19 epidemic have changed the maritime transport enough talk about the environmental damage that results from significantly, compared with the year 2019 total carbon emissions in digital devices. 2020 from oil tanker, bulk carrier increase but carbon emissions One of the global challenges of modern economic policy is to from cruise ship and vehicle carriers have turned overall situation of ensure sustainable development, i.e., economic and civilizational carbon emissions and were reduced during this time (Xu et al., progress, which would be the least harmful to the natural 2021a). environment. Tasks in this direction have been set at the The main purpose of the article is to point out that attention on international level (i.e., by the United Nations and the European carbon footprint generation is mainly focused on transportation, Union). roads and buildings while emissions from the Internet remain often In the first of these areas, the UN Sustainable Development unnoticed (Guerrero-ibanez, Zeadally, Contreras-Castillo, 2015; Goals (United Nations, 2022) provide a matrix of actions. From the Ozcan and Apergis, 2018; Wang and Xu, 2021). It is important perspective of the subject of the article, attention should be paid to remember that on the road to net zero, every action counts. primarily to Goal 13: “Take urgent action to combat climate change The authors focus on a very narrow issue—the generation of a and its impacts” and Goal 7: “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, carbon footprint by websites. Furthermore, they have chosen the sustainable and modern energy for all”. maritime transport sector, which has ambitions to achieve climate At the European level, the EU has taken an initiative in the area neutrality in the near future. This example is intended to be a of sustainable development by creating the concept of the Green starting point for a discussion on the fact that we cannot separate the Deal (European Parliament, 2022). This concept presents a roadmap pollution generated by the using of the internet from the benefits we that covers ideas, plans, legal acts aimed at strengthening the can achieve through it in another sector. It is therefore important to European economy while caring for the natural environment approach the problem holistically and not to overlook any link (European Commission, 2022). The primary objective of the Deal leading to the final chain. is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Social and economic The authors show one element of port operations (port transformation is necessary, based on the assumptions of cost- infrastructure) that generates a carbon footprint, and also point effectiveness, justice and social balance. The concept of the Green out that new technologies, even as simple as a website, generate a Deal also clearly applies to the maritime economy. The EU has carbon footprint. Given the growth of the new technology industry comprehensive rules on the environmental aspects of maritime and its encroachment into virtually every activity of human activity, transport, and the European Commission has published a one needs to work on the cost consciousness resulting from the use package of legislative changes, called the Fit for 55 package. of these technologies. Sustainable development requires many comprehensive actions, Currently, the political (UN’s and EU’s) efforts do not include taking into account international cooperation, changes in the strategies related to reducing the carbon footprint of new functioning of the economy, but also rethinking individual technologies. Even the Artificial Intelligence Act focuses mainly attitudes (entrepreneurs and consumers). One of the problematic on the positive impact of artificial intelligence in high-impact areas is transport, which on the one hand is indispensable, on the sectors, including climate change, environment (see point 3 of other hand generates significant carbon dioxide emissions into the the recitals, Articles 47(1) and 54(1) of the Artificial Intelligence atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Act). However, the Explanatory Memorandum of the draft A study by Transport & Environment (https://www. emphasizes that the benefits of artificial intelligence must be transportenvironment.org/discover/port-carbon-emissions-ranking/) balanced with the need to ensure fundamental rights including points to the carbon footprint of the maritime transport industry. Due the right to a high level of environmental protection and the to the rapid growth of trade associated with the development of improvement of the quality of the environment, as enshrined in e-commerce sales, the shipping industry has become a very fast- Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European growing sector, accompanied by an increase in the prices of cargo Union and implemented in Union policies. (see also point 28 of the volumes (an increase in the price of container transport). The record recitals, Article 3(44) of the Artificial Intelligence Act). The lack of high financial performance of shipping companies is not only adequate regulation on environmental sustainability has been profitable for a number of companies in the supply chain, but also pointed out by the European Economic and Social Committee: generates revenues on the order of magnitude equal to such well- compliance with the requirements set for medium- and high-risk known companies as Apple and Facebook. The entire supply chain of AI does not necessarily mitigate the risks of harm to health, safety just one industrial area, which is the port, has a direct impact on and fundamental rights for all high-risk AI. The EESC recommends Frontiers in Environmental Science 02 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 that the AIA provide for this situation. At the very least, the The structure of the article is as follows. In the introduction requirements of 1) human agency, 2) privacy, 3) diversity, non- described will be the nature of our research problem—carbon discrimination and fairness, 4) explainability and 5) environmental footprint generated by port websites and the background of the and social wellbeing of the Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI concept of the Green Port. Further discussed will be the should be added. (para. 8; the European Economic and Social environmental impact of maritime transport with particular Committee, 2021). For high-risk artificial intelligence systems, see emphasis on carbon emissions. Then will be presented, based on also point 4.10 of the Opinion. The proposed conditions are the literature studies conducted, the approaches of various included in the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy Artificial researchers to capture the essence of the concept of Green Ports. Intelligence (the High-Level Expert Group on AI, 2019). The method section will provide sufficient details regarding authors Also the European Committee of the Regions has indicated that own research on carbon footprint generated by the websites of the members of the European Artificial Intelligence Board should individual ports. It is worth mentioning that the empirical part is reflect the interests of European society. These interests include, based on two parts. The first part relates to the explanation that inter alia, climate and the energy-efficient use of AI systems authors choose ports considered in the T&A report as the most (Amendment 12, he European Committee of the Regions, 2022). polluting ports in Europe and examined the websites of those ports. The purpose of the article (empirical part) is to present the The second part of the study covered ports that are considered to be problem of generating a carbon footprint by seaport websites. This the most technologically advanced versus websites that generate the problem, of course, applies to all websites and tools related to the use greatest load on the environment. In the authors’ study, it became of the Internet. The authors took up the subject of seaports to apparent that there is a connection between the CO2 generation of indicate a certain paradox—both at the level of individual countries ports and the “cleanliness” of their websites. and at the international level, initiatives related to the pursuit of climate neutrality of maritime transport are undertaken, for this purpose, first of all, solutions based on new technologies (using the 2 Environmental impact of maritime Internet as a necessary component) are implemented, not noticing transport that they also emit carbon dioxide and have a harmful impact on the environment, for example, by creating e-waste. Of course, the Emissions related to port infrastructure are becoming an purpose of the article is not to deny the digitalization of ports increasingly frequent subject of research. It is estimated that 90% of and the use of the Internet, but to make people aware that at the everything we consume is transported by sea (https://www.weforum. moment the Internet is not a climate-neutral tool. org/agenda/2021/10/global-shortagof-shipping-containers/). This The article deals with both theoretical issues and presents the translates into 940,000,000 tons of CO2 per year, which constitutes 2. results of own research. The authors briefly presented the impact of 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere (https:// maritime transport on the environment and the solutions adopted at www.ukri.org/news/shipping-industry-reduces-carbon-emissions- the UN and EU level in the area of reducing the environmental harm of with-space-technology/). It has not been known for a long time that maritime transport. What is more, the authors base their considerations an increase in shipping activity will result in an increase in carbon on the concept of Green Ports. The issue of digitalization was also dioxide emissions (Xu et al., 2023). addressed, with particular focus placed on ports. To check to what The European Environment Agency indicates that extent the use of Internet tools generates carbon dioxide into the approximately 1/4 of the EU’s total CO2 emissions in 2019 came atmosphere, empirical studies were carried out. The authors selected the from the transport sector (https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in- websites of the ports that were subject to the study. First, European depth/transport-and-mobility), of which 71% from road transport, ports were selected, which, according to the Transport & Environment 13,5% from maritime transport, 14.4% from civil aviation, 0.5% ranking (https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/port- from other transport and 0.5% from rail (European Environment carbon-emissions-ranking/), generate the most pollution. The second Agency, European Maritime Safety Agency, 2021, pp. 40). stage involved checking the sites of ports, which according to the According to the EMTER 2021 Report (EMTER 2021), maritime ranking of The Leading Maritime Cities of the World 2022 are transport (maritime and inland waterway transport) was responsible considered the most technologically advanced (DNV, Menon for 13.5% of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU (European Economics, 2022 https://www.dnv.com/maritime/publications/ Environment Agency, European Maritime Safety Agency, Raport leading-maritime-cities-of-the-world-2022.html). EMTER 2021; Stefaniak, 2022). The report indicates that maritime In general, theoretical and empirical studies concern combating and inland waterway transport are responsible for greenhouse gas climate change in the maritime sector. The environmental and emissions. Therefore, the EU Fit for 55 package also covers the carbon impacts of new technologies (including Information and transport sector, including maritime transport. Communication Technology—ICT) are much less often analyzed. Analyses of the relationship of the federation of green There are some studies that indicate a positive relationship between organizations in the EU—Transport & Environment indicate the ICT usage and CO2 emissions (Erdmann and Hilty, 2010; Ishida, 10 ports that recorded the highest carbon dioxide emissions in 2020. 2015; B.V; Mathiesen, Lund, Connolly, Wenzel, Ostergaard, Moller, CO2 emissions cover three scopes, i.e., scope 1 direct emissions 2015; Pamlin and Pahlman, 2008; Chavanne et al., 2015; Toffel and (from the core activities of ports—loading of goods, unloading, Horvath, 2004; Wissner, 2011). Others find that the use of ICT puts refuelling), scope 2 indirect emissions (generated during the pressure on energy consumption (Moyer and Hughes, 2012; production of purchased electricity and heat) and scope Salahuddin and Alam, 2015) which is the main source of CO2 3 indirect emissions, i.e., throughout the supply chain caused by emissions (Hamdi, Sbia, Shahbaz, 2014). ships entering and leaving European ports (Greenhouse Gas Frontiers in Environmental Science 03 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 Protocol, 2022). The division of emissions into three scopes was Certainly, however, it is a process involving port activities, which introduced by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol initiative (Greenhouse include, management, introduction of regulations and undertaking Gas Protocol, 2022; DNV; Menon Economics and Publication, investments that raise environmental standards. According to 2022). Czermański, Pawłowska and Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek “The Green The carbon footprint is one way to measure human impact on Port concept includes the idea of protecting the environment in the environment. The publication of T&E’s ranking of the ten most all its infrastructure works, in the sustainable development policies polluting European ports calls for reducing carbon dioxide that it follows, and in all the activities and operations conducted in emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change and demonstrates the area” (Czermański, 2019, pp. 6). Żukowska noticed that the the high climate impact of these entities. According to the T&E concept of Green Ports focuses on undertaking pro-ecological report (https://www.transportenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/ initiatives in three main areas—environment, economy and 2022/02/2202_Port_Rankings_briefing-1.pdf), the port of Rotterdam society. Green Ports are the growth poles intensifying projects is the most polluting seaport in Europe (the only greenhouse gas aimed at reducing their negative impact, while implementing a reported was CO2). The first infamous place on the list of so-called set of actions to improve conditions and quality of life, in top-10 largest ports in Europe when it comes to CO2 emissions was particular at the port-city interface (Żukowska, 2021). Promoting taken by the largest port in Europe, i.e., the port of Rotterdam with energy conservation, reducing emissions, and improving the port’s a result of 13.7 million tons. The second place in the ranking end-to-end competitiveness through the use of shore-to-ship (SSE) for transhipments larger by less than 30 percent was taken by the electricity technology is increasingly resounding in the scientific port of Antwerp. The level of emissions of the port of Antwerp literature (Xu et al., 2021b). amounted to 7.4 million tons. It is worth mentioning here that the In the literature, the concept of Green Ports is also presented as a Dutch port in relation to its largest competitor—Antwerp emits direction for the development of seaports, taking into account the almost twice as much carbon dioxide per year. To show the achievement of the following priorities: improvement of air quality, enormous impact of the port of Rotterdam on the climate, it is reduction of energy consumption, reduction of noise emissions, compared with the fifth largest industrial polluter in Europe—the improvement of water quality, improvement of waste, waste and German Weisweiler coal-fired power plant. sewage management and improvement of relations with the Another European port that should significantly reduce its environment (Czermański, 2019). The concept of Green Ports very carbon footprint is the port of Hamburg, which ranks third often appears in the context of sustainable development, which took among the largest CO2 emitters with a result of 4.7 million tons. the form of a global trend of the turn of the 20th century (Bergqvist, Three Spanish ports are also very high on the Top-10 list of the Monios, 2019; UNESCAP, 2021). It is believed that this issue has largest CO2 emitters. Fourth place is taken by Algeciras, the highest developed in recent years in connection with the study of the impact rank among Spanish ports, with a volume of discharges of of maritime transport on environ-mental degradation. In this context, 3.3 million tons. While fifth and seventh places were taken by Green Ports are most often mentioned as sources of noise, dust, waste Barcelona and Valencia respectively, they follow Algeciras with a and water pollution (Ng, Song 2010; Lam, Notteboom, 2014). The discharge volume of 2.8 and 2.7 million tonnes respectively. In the maritime transport sector and in particular clean infrastructure ranking with the same volume of discharges as the port of Valencia solutions at the port level are of particular importance in view of of 2.7 million tons per year, the Greek port of Piraeus was also the European Union’s ambitious objectives for the decarbonisation of included. maritime transport. Ports have an impact on the climate change and it The eighth to ninth places are occupied by the German port of is huge (https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/eu-maritime- Bremen/Bremerhaven (2.3 million tons) and the French port located transport-first-environmental). The authors of the article wanted to in Marseille (2.3 million tons) respectively. Among the 10 ports that show that the UN but especially the EU is introducing solutions to recorded the highest carbon dioxide emissions in 2020, the port of ensure climate neutrality in the future, these measures are based on Amsterdam achieved the lowest volume of discharges at 2.1 million the use of new technologies (such as the Internet). Green Ports, which tonnes per year. The presented results on the most poisonous by con-ducting their basic activity, applying development and European ports served as a reference for conducting the authors’ investment strategies, providing adequate infrastructure to improve own research. energy efficiency, implementing new eco-friendly solutions and implementing intelligent digital solutions, can achieve climate neutrality and zero pollutant emissions. The Green Port concept 3 The concept of green ports relies heavily on advanced technological solutions associated with the use of technologically modern infrastructure in port and terminal Ports located all over the world want to become as green as operations, which is related to the use of the Internet. possible, meaning environmentally friendly. Recently, scientific The concept of Green Ports is closely related to the use of new studies have emerged describing the operation and management technologies in port functioning. The European Commission policies of ports and shipping companies in emergency situations indicates digital technologies as the main pillar of the green and daily management, providing a basis and reference for the transition. The main objective of the European Green Deal is for development of green shipping development strategies (Xu et al., the European Union to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. 2023). The concept of Green Port is difficult to define due to the Innovative digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, multiple attempts to classify activities aimed at the so-called machine learning, 5G, cloud, edge computing or the Internet of greening of ports, resulting in the fact that there is no Things are increasingly mentioned as a transition to green tracks unambiguous definition of this phenomenon in the literature. and the key to green transformation. At the same time, it should be Frontiers in Environmental Science 04 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 FIGURE 1 Average carbon footprint generated during visits to each port’s website (in g). FIGURE 2 Average annual carbon footprint of particular port websites (in kg). kept in mind that advanced technologies, also called in the literature universality and importance of which have translated into the ‘The fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies’ were recognition of Internet access as a human right by the United considered to be a key factor in achieving the Sustainable Nations. The figures show a steady increase in Internet access, Development Goals (SDGs). A smart port is a port that uses which currently covers more than 63.1% of the population. Of automation and innovative technologies, including AI, Big Data, course, there are still significant disparities between regions, as in the IoT and Blockchain to improve its performance (UNESCAP, 2021, Scandinavian countries it reaches 98%, and in Central Africa it pp. 15). The use of these tools requires the use of the Internet. covers only about 25% of the population (We Are Social Ltd, 2022). The digitalization of the economy is an aspect that raises the The benefits of using new technologies are indisputable. An hope of reducing/stopping environmental degradation. The role of increased level of relocation of economic and private activities is also modern technologies and the use of artificial intelligence is to inevitable. However, it should be kept in mind that solutions based improve processes in every area of the economy, but they also on the Internet also generate a burden on the environment. Every introduce solutions that facilitate everyday life (as exemplified by click has a huge impact on the climate (or to put it better, has a great smart home solutions and optimizing the use of energy in importance for the climate change), as it is associated with the households) These instruments are based on Internet access, the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. On the one hand, Frontiers in Environmental Science 05 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 FIGURE 3 Monthly number of visits to websites in the period from June to August 2022. FIGURE 4 Estimated (in orange) and actual (in blue) carbon dioxide emissions of the websites of selected ports. a fairly significant carbon footprint left by the use of electronic 4 Own research on carbon footprint devices (computers, phones, tablets) or the functioning of websites generated by the websites of individual should be noticed. On the other hand, using the Internet causes ports leaving waste also in the digital sphere (e-waste) Shorter product lifespans, rapidly advancing technological development and ever- 4.1 The most polluting ports in Europe lower prices for IT products mean that billions of metric tons of electronic products are being discarded. To present the severity of Using the Web Site Calculator, it was checked how many grams the situation and the scale of the problem, the data on the number of of carbon dioxide are emitted into the environment when visiting a current users of the websites of the selected ports (10 ports that given site (Wholegrain Digital, Scamper Ltd., 2022 https://www. recorded the highest carbon dioxide emissions in 2020—analyses websitecarbon.com/faq/). The authors used two existing solutions to performed by Transport and Environment and ports considered by test carbon emissions of web pages. The Website Carbon Calculator the Leading Maritime Cities 2022 report to be the most designed by world leaders in digital sustainability aiming to develop technologically advanced) and the associated estimates of and refine a methodology for this purpose. WebsiteCarbon.com is a greenhouse gas emissions will be summarized below. project of Wholegrain Digital (Scamper Ltd), the developer of this Frontiers in Environmental Science 06 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 Similarweb Ltd., together with its group companies. The tool has been researching for over 10 years the digital world. It collects daily 10 TB digital signals and analyses 2 TB data. However, the data obtained from SimilarWeb should be treated only as a signal, a clue to take further pro-environmental measures. Obtaining data as to the pollution generated by a single input and the level of the number of hits on a given page, the authors presented the amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere generated by individual seaport websites. The research was conducted from June to September 2022. In a study carried out by the authors, the carbon footprint of 11 websites of ports, considered in the T&A report as the most polluting ports in Europe and, for comparison, the port of Shanghai (see Figure 1). The Website Carbon Calculator (WCC) is a measurement tool. After entering the address of the website, the emission data of a single visit to the website is displayed. It also FIGURE 5 specifies an estimate of the pollution generated annually by a given Carbon footprint generated by visiting a port’s website (in grams). website, assuming that 10,000 users visit the website per month. The WCC also shows the energy source used by the website and indicates the scale of the generated pollution, indicating at least the number of trees needed to neutralise emissions. The port in Bremen/ Bremerhaven has the cleanest website, whose one-time visits will generate only 0.14 g of CO2. This represents 16.84 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which consume 1 tree (see Figure 2). Not much worse is the port of Barcelona, whose website generates 0.25 g per visit and the port in Amsterdam (0.39 g). The top five also included Antwerp (0.4 g) and Valencia (0.68 g). In terms of the average annual footprint generated by a website in kg, the port of Barcelona generated 29.54 kg, which takes two trees to absorb. Another growing trend was the port in Amsterdam—46.93 kg (three trees are needed). A similar result was obtained by Antwerp 48.3 kg (and also three trees). Similarly, presenting the results in kg in the top five, there was also the port in Valencia 81.75 kg. Slightly worse in the comparison was the port of Athens, whose single visit generates 0.74 g of CO2. This amounts to 89.05 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which can be neutralised by FIGURE 6 Average annual carbon footprint generated by a port’s website (in 4 trees. Next in the ranking is the port of Algeciras, which generates kilograms). 0.78 g of CO2 with one visit. This represents 93.12 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which should absorb 5 trees. Marseille is next (0.85 g). This amounts to 101.42 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which will neutralise 5 trees, similarly to the previous place tool claims that to calculate the energy and emission of a web page in the ranking. Rotterdam (1.16 g), Hamburg (1.2 g) and Shanghai they use the following data points: data transfer over the wire; energy (3.2 g) are among the most emitting ports. This constitutes an intensity of web data; energy source used by the data centre; carbon annual carbon dioxide emission in the amount of: Rotterdam intensity of electricity and website traffic. The tool also makes it (139.09 kg), Hamburg (143.44 kg) and Shanghai (383.42 kg) with possible to calculate pollution generated by a single visit as well an average annual number of visits of 10,000. More figuratively, in annual emissions with an average monthly number of visits of order to reduce the carbon dioxide produced by port websites, two 10,000 and indicate how many trees are needed to neutralise trees are needed (in the case of Rotterdam and Hamburg, in the such a carbon footprint. Of course, the assumption of extreme case—Shanghai, it would be 18 trees). The fact that it’s not 10,000 visits per month is not reliable, so it was necessary to that much of a burden compared to others doesn’t mean that you obtain data on the actual number of visits to a given website. shouldn’t pay attention to it. The average monthly number of visits to a given website was Examination of the amount of carbon dioxide generated by the calculated using the SimilarWeb tool (SimilarWeb, 2022). This way, websites of the ports that, according to T&E, emit the most carbon it was possible to approximate the actual environmental load on a dioxide has shown that there is a certain relationship between the given website. It should be noted that all SimilarWeb data are generation of CO2 by the ports and the “cleanliness” of their websites. estimates and approximations. The tool does not have exact data The higher the port is in the infamous T&A ranking, the more on site traffic (only site owners know that), but it collects publicly solutions used on the website do not take into account the possibility available information on web traffic and builds reports from it. of minimizing the carbon footprint generated by their websites. Frontiers in Environmental Science 07 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 TABLE 1 The actual carbon footprint generated by a port’s website. P, Port; C1, Amount of CO2 generated by a single visit to a website (in g); C2, Amount of CO2 generated during the year when visiting the website on average 10,000 times a month (in kg); T, Number of new trees needed to eliminate the CO2 generated annually by the website; W, Number of new trees needed to eliminate the CO2 generated annually by the website; V, Number of visits in August 2022; C3, Actual amount of CO2 generated during the year with website traffic at the August 2022 level. P W C1 C2 T V C3 Singapore https://www.mpa.gov.sg/home 3.08 369.41 17 256,385 9,456.9 Oslo https://www.oslohavn.no/ 0.75 90.12 5 89,150 802.07 Busan https://busanpa.com/eng/Main.do 1.71 205.29 10 88,500 1806.55 London http://www.pla.co.uk/ 0.65 78.27 4 217,792 1,698.46 Shanghai https://en.portshanghai.com.cn/ 3.2 383.42 18 8,028 306.74 Tokyo https://www.kouwan.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/ 0.92 109.84 5 440,618 4,832.96 Rotterdam https://www.portofrotterdam.com/en 1.16 139.07 7 443,122 6,160.8 Hamburg https://www.hafen-hamburg.de/de/startseite/ 1.2 143.44 7 174,847 2,495.86 Beijing/Tianjin https://www.ptacn.com/ 0.86 102.91 5 6,539 61.746 FIGURE 7 Estimated (in orange) and actual (in blue) carbon dioxide emissions of the websites of selected ports. It is worth noting, however, that in many cases the actual share in Rotterdam and Hamburg) are also relatively more frequently in the production of the carbon footprint will be much greater than visited than other websites included in the study. No similar pattern assumed by the Website Carbon Calculator. It all depends on the was observed for the other sites. The third and fourth places in terms actual traffic on the site. Another tool used for of the number of visits were taken by the websites of ports in research—SimilarWeb—makes it possible to examine the Barcelona and Amsterdam, and which took second and third places monthly number of page views. The amount of pollution respectively in terms of environmental friendliness. It is worth generated annually given in Figure 2 assumes that a given noting, however, that the website of the port in Bremerhaven is website will be visited 10,000 times a month. In fact, the traffic the cleanest and least visited one. on a given website turns out to be much greater (see Figures 3, 4). In the case of Rotterdam it will be almost 44 times the assumed number, so it will not be 139.09 kg per year but instead, 4.2 The most technologically advanced 6,160.80 kg. Only in two cases (Bremerhaven and Athens), the ports in the world monthly traffic on the website was lower than assumed in the carbon footprint calculator of websites. This leads to a simple The second part of the study covered ports that are considered to conclusion that the actual carbon footprint is very likely to be be the most technologically advanced based on the Leading greater than the WCC predicted. In addition, the inclusion of Maritime Cities 2022 report. It is worth noting that one of the data from Figures 1–4 shows that more emitting websites (ports factors affecting the results were solutions that have an impact on the Frontiers in Environmental Science 08 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 port’s climate neutrality. The port of Singapore was considered as 5 Conclusion the most technologically advanced port, followed by ports in Oslo and Busan. Then there were ports in London, Shanghai, Tokyo, The digitalization of ports and the use of new technologies bring Rotterdam, Hamburg and Beijing. By definition, the digitisation of many benefits, making maritime transport more efficient, while ports should have a smaller negative impact on the environment. ensuring that it has the least negative impact on the environment. From this point of view, it was interesting to examine the carbon However, it should be kept in mind that new technologies based on the footprint of the most technologically advanced ports left by websites. use of the Internet are also energy-intensive and generate a carbon Figure 5 shows the estimated CO2 emissions generated by a single footprint. Being aware of this fact can contribute to noticing the sources visit to the website, specified in grams. The infamous first place went of the threat and minimize the negative effects of using the Internet. to the website of the port of Shanghai. In the ranking lead the port The carbon footprint generation of websites analysed in the article is websites in Singapore and Korean Busan. an exemplification of a broader problem. The authors are aware of the Figure 6 shows the annual burden on the atmosphere of fact that in maritime transport the use of seaport websites is not a priority. individual websites, assuming that 10,000 Internet users visit The amount of information contained on individual pages varies and for them every month. The data do not reflect reality without some ports individual terminals have separate pages. In the forwarding referring to the actual traffic on a given page. Table 1 presents process, one of the main tools are emails and tools created by individual data that allow for a more realistic estimation, calculated according ship owners (e.g., Tango). The size of the carbon footprint generated by to the formula: C3 = C2 x (V/10.000), where it means the actual port websites is therefore only a fraction of the carbon footprint of digital amount of CO2 generated during the year with traffic on the website instruments used in maritime transport. The choice of websites to at the level in the period from June to August 2022, C2 - the amount conduct research only allowed to indicate the existing problem. of CO2 generated per year when visiting the website on average Although the scale of pollution generated by websites is much 10,000 times a month (in kg) and V - the number of visits in smaller than that generated by individual ports, it is worth being aware August 2022. that digital tools are also responsible for carbon dioxide emissions. The table above shows a significant discrepancy between the Based on the research, it can be concluded that the websites of seaports amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by visiting a given generate significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. website determined by the Website Calculator Carbon and the actual This applies both to ports that are considered the “most load on specific websites. However, there is not much discrepancy contaminated” in Europe, as well as those that are considered when it comes to the order in the ranking of the amount of pollutant technologically advanced and striving for climate neutrality. This emitted. The websites that generate the greatest load on the problem is not sufficiently taken into account at the level of climate environment are as follows (in order): Singapore, Busan and policy. Clean transport is a goal outlined by both the UN and the Rotterdam, while due to the number of views, the “most European Union. The same applies to the digitalisation of the contaminated” pages are the websites of ports in Singapore, economy, including maritime transport. However, there are no Rotterdam and Tokyo (see Figure 7). references to the sustainable use of digital devices that are not It is worth noting that the ports that are considered to be the climate neutral, which is a significant dissonance between the most technologically developed, including due to work on tools above organisations’ goals. As a result of this study, authors aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, do not pay proper formulated recommendations and paths that should be followed. attention to solutions that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide First, programs and policies at the European Union level should pay generated by their websites. In addition, it is interesting that the some attention to the impact that new technologies have on the two ports that have been identified as the most environmentally environment. Secondly, clean energy would also be an adequate harmful ports in Europe (Hamburg and Rotterdam) are response to global challenges. Broadly speaking, changing habits so simultaneously among the most technologically advanced and that they become more environmentally friendly. In the case of the environmentally aware. In other words it means that the authors port websites analyzed by the authors of the article, a good path for wanted to emphasize that the overall impact of the use of new ports to follow is green website design (minimal loading times, technologies on the state of the climate is not studied, the benefits intuitive design, ease of finding key information on the site higher are taken into account first of all, while it is not taken into SEO ranking). Reducing the carbon footprint of the website in the case account whether the mechanism itself (saving shipping in question can be done if only by keeping the size and weight of the emissions) generates a burden on the climate. In the report we website as low as possible. The aforementioned page weight is have very advanced solutions, while already such a basic element influenced by the images placed and the font used. as a website is not created in an environmentally “economical” The purpose of the study was not to question the legitimacy of way. These data are derived from reports, not from our the development of the Internet and new technologies but raise calculations. This is an interesting situation worth noting, awareness and encourage more eco-friendly approaches among while the explanation of the reason is beyond the matter of politicians, entrepreneurs, including the web design industry, but the article. also individual users. It’s about using more energy-saving tools, Of course, the load generated by individual port websites is a prudent use of the Internet. Renewable energy sources are also a key drop in the ocean when it comes to the amount of carbon dioxide issue, without them new technologies are not able to ensure climate emitted by ports. This does not mean, however, that this source neutrality. Unfortunately, the research does not cover the whole use should be ignored. For example, the use of a greener energy source or of the Internet by the maritime sector, but only focuses on the a more transparent structure of the website would allow to reduce websites of the selecte seaports. In the future, it would be worth emissions in a fairly easy and low-cost way. examining the real impact on the climate of maritime transport Frontiers in Environmental Science 09 frontiersin.org Bielenia and Podolska 10.3389/fenvs.2023.1211454 taking into account emissions of the CO2 generated by new Conflict of interest technologies used in this sector. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be Data availability statement construed as a potential conflict of interest. The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed Publisher’s note to the corresponding author. All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated Author contributions organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or All authors listed (MB and AP) have made a substantial, direct, and claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication. endorsed by the publisher. References Artificial Intelligence Act (2021). 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