The World Economic Forum has released a briefing paper, Future-Proofing Ports: Nature, Climate and People as Drivers of Competitiveness, developed through Accelerating Critical Transformations for Ports, a collaboration between the Transitioning Industrial Clusters and ACT Ocean initiatives, with the support of Lloyd’s Register Foundation. The briefing paper notes that climate and nature risks are already affecting port performance and states that climate-related port downtime puts at least $122 billion in economic activity at risk each year. It also notes that ports operate through complex ecosystems where fragmented responsibilities make it harder to finance, coordinate and execute resilience measures, but that shared data systems and industrial clusters can support system-wide action. The paper recommends three priorities for future-proof ports: stronger coordination through shared data, common metrics and platforms; embedding resilience in infrastructure investment and operations; and treating nature, water, people and communities as strategic assets. The briefing paper can be accessed here.
