Event to discuss barriers to advancing sustainability in the sector this wednesday

Suape Port, in Pernambuco, hosts the 2nd COP Sustainable Ports Meeting on Wednesday afternoon (Disclosure)

There are projects and investments available, but a lack of legislation and regulation is preventing the effective advancement of sustainability in ports. The main existing barriers will be discussed during the 2º Encontro COP Portos Sustentáveis - Suape, organized by Grupo Tribuna this Wednesday (August 13), starting at 1:00 p.m., at the Suape Industrial Port Complex, located 40 kilometers from Recife, Pernambuco.

This is the second of three meetings aimed at gathering proposals to be included in a document to be submitted at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held in November in Belém (PA). The first meeting took place in Paranaguá (PR), and the final one will be held in Santos, on September 2.

The final report will be prepared by Cristina Wadner, attorney specializing in Maritime, Port, and Customs Law, and by Fábio Silveira, attorney and managing partner at Gallotti Advogados, who is also part of the legal department of the Brazilian Association of Port and Waterway Entities (Abeph).

In Suape, both will present the document outlining the main legal and institutional pillars developed during Phase 1 of the COP30 Ports project, based on the assessment conducted in Paranaguá. “We will highlight which legal and regulatory barriers must be addressed to ensure that ongoing initiatives — such as decarbonization plans, electrification projects, and the use of alternative fuels — can count on legal certainty, standardization, and national scalability”, says Cristina.

According to her, the discussion will also include “critical aspects such as the lack of specific regulation for clean energy and marine biofuels, the absence of structured incentives, and the urgent need to standardize emissions inventories. Even though existing projects may be financially feasible, they are not legally viable given the current regulatory gaps.”

Cristina emphasizes that the goal is to “connect practical experiences with concrete proposals for regulatory instruments, which will be refined in the upcoming meetings and submitted as the sector’s contribution to COP30. ”

Paranaguá For the attorney, the meeting in Paranaguá was crucial in initiating a national mapping of the port energy transition and in consolidating a technical-legal model based on concrete evidence. “We witnessed the materialization of the energy transition on multiple fronts, such as the implementation of over 20 continuous environmental programs, with high-frequency physical and biological monitoring and consistent investments, all integrated with the existing environmental licensing framework.”

The expert also highlighted the level of detail in the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory, covering scopes 1, 2, and 3, including the measurement of carbon footprint by vessel type and cargo type — an essential tool for strategic decarbonization planning.

“There are solid and replicable national experiences that should guide the development of legal proposals that are secure, realistic, and adaptable to the different port realities across the country.”

Based on the evidence observed in Paranaguá, the legal and technical content will be further developed in Suape. One example is the importance of emissions inventories, which identified vessels as the primary emitters in local operations. “It’s essential to understand the actions being undertaken, especially because the type of fuel to be adopted — which will not be a single one — will define the parameters for adapting port infrastructure.”

The specialist stresses the need to “standardize emissions monitoring, as is already done in Paranaguá, where the carbon footprint is calculated by vessel and cargo type.”

Schedule

1:00 p.m. – Registration

1:30 p.m. – Opening Carlos Cavalcanti, Director of Sustainability, Suape Industrial Port Complex

1:50 p.m. – Presentation of the Phase 1 Legal-Technical Document by the COP30 Legal Committee of Grupo Tribuna Cristina Wadner, Attorney specializing in Maritime, Port, and Customs Law Fábio Silveira, Attorney and Managing Partner at Gallotti Advogados / Abeph

2:20 p.m. – Keynote 1 Javier Ramirez, Executive Director at Tecon Suape

2:40 p.m. – Keynote 2 Daiane Maeinchein, Head of Communication, Corporate Social Responsibility and Marketing at APM Terminals

3:00 p.m. – Keynote 3 Pablo Fonseca, Executive Director at Ambipar Response

3:20 p.m. – Coffee Break

3:40 p.m. – COP30 Panel – Climate Maritime Corridors: Innovation and Collective Action for Decarbonization. Resilience of the Port and Waterway Sector Participants:

Thairyne de Oliveira, Deputy Executive Secretary, Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPor)

Jesualdo Silva, President of ABTP

Renata Machado Santos, Innovation Coordinator at Antaq

João Paulo Santana, Environmental Director at Portos do Paraná

Gilmara Temóteo, Executive Director at Abeph

Carlos Cavalcanti, Director of Sustainability, Suape Industrial Port Complex

Ingrid Zanella, President, National Commission on Maritime and Port Law, Federal Council

Registration available on the website .