Green port: the decarbonization levers transforming African logistics
A green port is a port infrastructure that seeks to reduce its environmental footprint, in particular its emissions, energy consumption, and impact on ecosystems, while preserving its logistics efficiency. As the energy transition gradually reaches global supply chains, this approach is becoming increasingly important in Africa, where ports must balance infrastructure modernization, competitiveness, and a smaller environmental impact.
Green port: what does it mean in practice?
A green port is more than installing solar panels or electrifying quays. The concept refers to a broader transformation of port activity, aimed at reducing its environmental footprint while preserving its economic performance and its role in supply chains. It covers infrastructure, equipment, and the way the port plans its development.
This approach differs from the “smart port,” which focuses primarily on digitalization, data, automation, and operational optimization. A green smart port combines both dimensions, using digital technologies as tools to deliver stronger environmental performance. For Salématou Fofana, Deputy QHSE Director at AGL, the green port also reflects the responsibility of port stakeholders for the impact of their activities.
When we talk about green ports, the central question is responsibility. We know our activities can have an impact. So the first step is to analyze those impacts, then put in place the actions needed to reduce them.
Why green ports are becoming a priority
This responsibility is growing as new requirements are placed on supply chain stakeholders. Located at the heart of goods flows, ports are directly affected by efforts to cut emissions, as well as by the expectations of regulators and funders.
Green port considerations are now important in the projects we carry out with funders. For them, the activities they finance must limit their impact on wildlife, plant life, and the climate.
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), shipping accounts for nearly 3% of global CO₂ emissions, while carrying more than 80% of world trade in goods by volume. The organization now aims for net-zero emissions from international shipping “by or around 2050,” with a carbon intensity reduction of at least 40% by 2030 compared with 2008.
In the European Union, this trajectory is already reflected in the FuelEU Maritime regulation, which requires a gradual reduction in the greenhouse gas intensity of the energy used on board ships. Shipping has also been included in the EU Emissions Trading System since 2024. On top of this come the expectations of shippers, who are looking to reduce emissions across their value chain, particularly Scope 3 emissions, of which transport is one component.
African ports are part of the equation too
African ports are not on the sidelines of this shift. It comes at a time when infrastructure modernization needs remain substantial and investments must address energy performance, competitiveness, and resilience at the same time. It also requires bringing together stakeholders whose responsibilities are spread across port authorities, operators, energy suppliers, and regulators. UNCTAD identifies weak coordination as one of the obstacles faced in several developing countries.
The topic is beginning to take shape at continental level. In March 2026, the African Union Commission and ECOWAS held a validation workshop in Abuja on guidelines for green ports in Africa. In late April, African ministers for transport and energy also approved several shared orientations on maritime decarbonization, green port transformation, and digitalization. Some ports are also rolling out their own frameworks. In Kenya, the Kenya Ports Authority has adopted a Green Port Policy covering 2024-2028, following a revision of its 2015 policy.
This momentum is also supported by funding from development institutions. At Tanger Med, the IFC granted a €197 million sustainability-linked loan in 2024, tied to sustainability performance indicators including the use of renewable energy. In 2026, the French Development Agency (AFD) and Transnet signed a €300 million loan agreement to support, among other things, the decarbonization of rail and port freight activities in South Africa.
The challenge, however, goes beyond reducing emissions. As the AfCFTA is expected to boost trade flows between the continent’s economies, the performance of the corridors linking ports to their hinterlands is becoming strategic. The African Union’s orientations also link green port development to maritime competitiveness, climate resilience, and trade facilitation.
Practical levers for port decarbonization
Moving from a conventional port to a green port first requires measuring energy consumption, emissions, and equipment performance, so that investments can be directed to the areas with the greatest impact. This logic is at the heart of UNCTAD’s “Sustainable Smart Ports” program, which has assessed the energy systems of Tema in Ghana, Port Louis in Mauritius, and Tanger Med in Morocco. Greening then moves on to operational measures, from waste and water management to the electrification of equipment and quays.
Tanger Med illustrates this approach at the scale of a major port complex. It is aiming for carbon neutrality of its activities by 2030 and has launched a decarbonization roadmap backed by a 2 billion dirham investment program. Since January 2025, the complex has reported a fully renewable electricity supply. It also has a facility to power ships at berth at its TC4 terminal.
Electrifying handling equipment is another lever, notably by replacing diesel yard gantry cranes with electric RTGs and using electric tractors to move containers. It reduces the emissions directly linked to handling operations, depending on where the electricity comes from.
Shore power, also known as cold ironing, allows ships at berth to switch off their auxiliary engines and use electricity supplied from land. This solution is among the technologies selected for port decarbonization pilot projects in Africa.
The transition can also rely on data-driven flow optimization. Sharing real-time port call information makes it possible to better synchronize ship arrivals with berth and service availability, reducing waiting times and unnecessary fuel consumption. In Namibia, an IMO pilot project in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz aims to optimize port calls through data sharing, with potential reductions of up to 7% of ships’ annual emissions while in port.
Green ports: the obstacles to overcome
The transition to green ports also comes with challenges specific to its implementation. One of the first is financing the large-scale rollout of these technologies. Connecting ships to shore power means adapting infrastructure, reinforcing the power grid where needed, and installing conversion and connection equipment. For large vessels, the IMO estimates that these installations can require significant investment, whose profitability depends in particular on the number of equipped ships, the frequency of port calls, and the cost of electricity.
These constraints take on a particular dimension in Africa, where power grids still need to be developed to meet the basic needs of many people. Port decarbonization therefore requires identifying ways to improve coordination among the different stakeholders involved.
What will allow us to go further is first to bring governments, and at the very least port authorities, on board, so we can work together and create consultation frameworks. We need to involve every stakeholder in the ecosystem, beyond ports and terminals, to collectively identify what needs improving and define the investments required to strengthen the environmental performance of ports in each country.
Operating this infrastructure over the long term is another challenge. Electrified equipment, renewable energy, and new fuels require new skills, both among operators and in the authorities responsible for planning port activities. This dimension features in the “Future-Ready Shipping in Africa” project, launched in 2025 by the IMO and the European Union. Its training component aims to adapt curricula to alternative fuels and digital technologies and to strengthen the skills of port professionals.
AGL: a player in Africa’s transition to green ports
At AGL, the transition to green ports is built first on an approach rolled out progressively across its African network. In 2025, the group reported having extended the Green Terminal label to 13 port terminals. Developed in collaboration with Bureau Veritas, this scheme rests on eight pillars covering, among other things, environmental impact analysis, infrastructure and equipment supporting the energy transition, digital technology, waste and water management, air quality, and employee training.
In Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Terminal is a concrete illustration of this approach. Operated by a consortium of AGL and APM Terminals, the port’s second container terminal, commissioned in 2022, initially had six ship-to-shore cranes, 13 yard gantry cranes, and 36 electric tractors. Awarded the three-star Green Terminal label in 2023, it combines electrified handling, environmental management of its facilities, and performance indicator tracking.
This approach comes with broader emissions monitoring and investments tailored to different markets. The carbon footprint assessment carried out by AGL in 2024 covers its port, logistics, rail, and maritime activities and identifies nine areas for action, including equipment electrification, solar development, and the use of lower-carbon energy. Initiatives under way include the development of solar sites in South Africa and Zambia.
Green ports in Africa: outlook to 2030
By 2030, the decarbonization of African ports is expected to go beyond cutting their own emissions to include their role in the new maritime energy chain. The IMO is aiming in particular for at least 5%, striving for 10%, of zero or near-zero emission fuels and technologies in the energy used by international shipping by 2030.
For African ports, this opens the possibility of becoming hubs for the production, storage, and bunkering of alternative fuels, notably those derived from green hydrogen or certain marine biofuel pathways, drawing on the continent’s renewable resources. Egypt is, for instance, studying with the IMO the potential of five ports to eventually host such activities.
This shift could change the competitiveness criteria of African logistics corridors. As shipowners reduce the carbon footprint of their operations and environmental requirements tighten, a corridor’s ability to offer efficient port calls, lower-carbon fuels, and suitable infrastructure may become an advantage.
The African Union is already calling for the development of green corridors and alternative fuels. Digitalizing port procedures can complement this shift. While the maritime single window has been mandatory for IMO member states since January 2024, its implementation remains a work in progress in several African countries. Wider adoption could reduce operating costs and make supply chains more predictable.
Conclusion
The green port appears less as a simple environmental upgrade than as a new component of African supply chain performance. The challenge for the continent’s ports will be to turn decarbonization investments into new capabilities that can support more competitive and better-integrated trade.
For AGL, this shift is part of a broader ambition to support the decarbonization of African supply chains. By modernizing its terminals and deploying lower-emission equipment, the group intends to build environmental considerations into its investment decisions and operating practices, while working with the various stakeholders in the port ecosystem.