TA-10202 PRC: Research on Environmentally Sustainable Development Technology Assessment and Innovation Path of the People’s Republic of China's Coastal Ports - F1 Environmentally Sustainable Development Technology Assessment and Innovation Path of People’s Republic of China's Coastal Ports (57100-001)

TA-10202 PRC: Research on Environmentally Sustainable Development Technology Assessment and Innovation Path of the People’s Republic of China's Coastal Ports - F1 Environmentally Sustainable Development Technology Assessment and Innovation Path of People’s Republic of China's Coastal Ports (57100-001)

Date Published: 27-Jan-2024

Deadline of Submitting EOI: 10-Feb-2024 11:59 PM Manila local time

SELECTION PROFILE

Consultant Type: Firm

Selection Method: Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS)

Selection Title: Research on Environmentally Sustainable Development Technology Assessment and Innovation Path of the People’s Republic of China's Coastal Ports

Package Number: F1

Package Name: Environmentally Sustainable Development Technology Assessment and Innovation Path of People’s Republic of China's Coastal Ports

Engagement Period: 18MONTH

Consulting Services Budget: USD 278,000

Source: International

Technical Proposal: Simplified Technical Proposal (STP)

Approval Number: 10202

Approval Date: 28-Nov-2023

Estimated Commencement Date: 04-Mar-2024

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country of assignment: China

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Primary Expertise: Environment and water management specialist; Shipping and Ports Specialist

TOR Keywords: Green ports and shipping, hydrogen, clean energy

Objective and Purpose of the Assignment

A. Introduction

1. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing support to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) through technical assistance (TA) to study and promote the green and environmentally sustainable development for ports.B. Project Background and Context2. In the context of global warming and resource depletion, energy conservation and emissions reduction has become a core requirement in various sectors both domestically and internationally. The PRC possesses the largest port clusters in the world, with its throughput ranking first globally. As important hubs for global trade and logistics, ports take significant economic and social responsibilities. However, ports also consume substantial amounts of energy. Traditional port operations are often associated with multiple environmental impacts. Emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matters (PM) generated from cargo handling equipment, heavy-duty vehicles, harbor craft, etc. during the port operations have become important sources of air pollutants in port cities. According to the “Review of Maritime Transport 2023” released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the maritime industry accounts for approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions increasing by 20% over the past decade. There are also common issues, such as: high decarbonization costs and insufficient supply chain efficiency. In addition, air pollutants emitted by ships at ports, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and PM, exacerbate air pollution in ports and neighboring areas, posing significant risks to the atmospheric environment and human health. Under the circumstance, it is necessary to formulate a transformative strategy that is environmentally friendly and technologically inclusive, with comprehensive cooperation and real-time supervision to enable prompt interventions and make substantial investments and provide policy support for green technologies, to address the challenges brought about by global changes.3. Since the announcement of the carbon peak and neutrality targets, ports in PRC have been continuously taking pragmatic actions toward improving policy framework, establishing technical standards, and implementing technological innovations. These great efforts have translated into positive achievements. From the policy perspective, continuous improvements have been made in top- level designs to confirm staying committed to a green and low-carbon path for development, with successive releases of documents such as the “Efficiency Enhancement Implementation Plan for Pollution and Carbon Emission Reduction,” the “Green Transportation Development Plan for the 14th Five-Year Period,” aiming to build a new development pattern on achieving the dual-carbon goals. Meanwhile, a series of standards and specifications have been formulated or revised to unifying the assessment of sustainable development of ports, including but not limited to “Green Transportation Standard System (2022),” “Evaluation Guidelines for Green Ports”, and “Energy-saving Design Specifications for Water Transport Projects.”4. From the technology perspective, the PRC’s green and low-carbon development in ports achieved remarkable progress over recent years. The technological innovations and promotion of clean energy sources such as wind, solar, hydrogen, electricity, and methanol have helped some ports establish a modern, complementary, and diversified clean energy system. The expansion of shore power systems and green intelligent power supply systems have facilitated the utilization of clean energy in port areas. In addition, the practice of green transportation represented by multimodal transportation has improved the overall transport efficiency, reduced negative environmental impacts, and promoted pollution and carbon emissions reduction across the industry. However, ports in terms of geographical locations (north versus south, coastal versus inland), and sizes were developed unevenly in PRC. And the promotion of advanced green and low-carbon technologies to general ports is the path that has to be taken to scale up sustainable development. The issues, e.g., low level of technology innovation, low cost-effectiveness, insufficient research on sustainability, etc., are also present in the advanced coastal ports.5. In summary, promoting the sustainable development of ports is of great significance in achieving the dual-carbon targets and constructing green and low-carbon ports. To achieve the strategic targets to peak greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping as soon as possible and to reach net-zero GHG emissions by or around 2050, proposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the international shipping because of ports’ important roles, it is necessary to review advanced technologies and summarize practical case studies. Currently, unresolved issues remain in PRC ports, such as: incomplete pollutant reception and disposal, limited and inefficient utilization of clean energy, high energy consumption for handling container boxes, and low cost-effectiveness of green and low-carbon technologies. Additionally, coordination between regional and central-level policy is insufficient and support for the green and low-carbon transformation of the entire supply chain is inadequate. All these issues reveal the urgency to improve technological standards and regulatory systems and take actions in international collaboration for sustainable development of ports. This project aims to address the above- mentioned issues by conducting research on the implementation of sustainable development technologies and development of policies, regulations, and standards in three key aspects: environmental protection, new and clean energy and energy conservation, and port logistics and transportation, to explore future directions of sustainable development for ports in the PRC and contribute to marine environmental protection.C. Assignment and Selection6. A Consultant (consulting firm, international) will be engaged to undertake the Research on Environmentally Sustainable Development Technology Assessment and Innovation Path of People’s Republic of China's Coastal Ports proposed under the TA.7. The consulting firm will be recruited using the quality-and cost-based selection method, using a quality–cost ratio of 90:10 and simplified technical proposal according to ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time).D. Duration and Location of the Services8. The assignment is expected to have a duration of 18 months. The locations where the services will be provided include Beijing, Xiamen, Guangzhou, and Qinzhou in the PRC.E. Objectives9. The TA aims to conduct a survey on the implementation of environmentally sustainable development technologies in coastal ports, systematically assessing the current status and existing problems of technology utilization, including but not limited to: port shore power, utilization of new and clean energy sources, ecological environment management at port terminals, and the handling and disposal of pollutants. Drawing on the experiences of sustainable port development in developed countries such as Japan, Singapore, and the European Union (EU), the TA will propose innovative pathway based on assessment results, encompassing policy advocacy, standards setting, equipment upgrading, and technological innovation. The goal is to gradually transform PRC's ports toward a green and low-carbon development path, thereby contributing to the objective of environmental protection and sustainable development.