NavClimate moves into a new phase 

More collaboration and adaptation agreed by NavClimate’s partners (including the IMarEST) in its new five-year plan 

Looking back five years, the world, and the waterborne transport infrastructure sector was in a different space. Since then, key moments including the IPCC 1.5°C report, the initial IMO GHG Strategy and the mass-globalisation of climate movements have increased the sector’s understanding of the urgency of climate change – as well as encouraging alignment.  

This heightened vision of the pathway to climate mitigation dovetails with the increased understanding of the important of resilience, as a result of the disruption from Covid-19 and supply chain challenges. It’s a good time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.  

Greater than the sum of its parts

“The new five-year plan hasn’t started out on a blank page - it’s really developing on progress already made since 2015, bringing actions and people and partners together and making sure that what we are doing is aligned to a common purpose,” says Mark Button, who serves as the NavClimate Focal Point and primary point of contact at Resilience Rising. “NavClimate is extremely well-placed to take forward this agenda.”   

With nine partners including the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC), the IMarEST, and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), all operating in the waterborne transport system infrastructure sector. Together, they’ve been approving NavClimate’s action plan for the next five years and have identified three key objectives or outcome areas, in the process:-   

• Ensuring actions by the waterborne transport infrastructure sector are integrated – e.g. ports coming together with inland waterways, marine pilots, and harbour masters, to make sure the sector is acting in unison. And actions with other sectors inside the transport space should also be integrated – for example, via the UNFCCC. 
• Fostering a waterborne transport infrastructure sector that’s capable of action – taking into account the varying resource constraints for different actors, geographically or depending on their scale. 
• Engagement with enablers outside the sector who can unlock action – for example, the finance community, policy worlds, and community stakeholders. 

“It’s absolutely critical to have the full waterborne transport infrastructure value-chain thinking about climate action together, and not all working individually in different silos,” says Button, who highlights working to a common purpose, and complementing individual actions as the core of NavClimate’s success over the past five years.  

Unlocking change together

Driving adaptation as well as mitigation for change is essential for the sector. “The last NavClimate plan was ahead of the curve on adaptation and has really helped bring that adjustment to the fore for the transport industry, helping push adaptation up the agenda, near mitigation, where it needs to be,” explains Button.   

Button points to continuing development and synthesizing of guidance and knowledge for the sector and NavClimate’s supporters, giving the example of the NavClimate website, that is managed by the IMarEST where resources, standards, guides and other publications on climate change adaptation and resilience are easily accessible, leaving NavClimate to collectively identify gaps at a sectoral level.  

Collaboration has always been key to NavClimate’s success. Partner meetings are held bi-annually, if not more often, with smaller working groups meeting also to focus on particular tasks or activities. “But it’s the more informal coming together of partners at each other’s conferences, webinars and events, and sharing speaking opportunities across the entire platform, helping fly the flag climate action, that’s also fuelling closer connection and cross-fertilisation,” says Button, adding that “informal collaboration is important. Getting together at industry events and COPs can be as important as the formal process.”  

The route to COP27

The ports and the wider waterborne infrastructure sector will play a key role in the green shipping corridors initiative, both on the adaptation side and mitigation according to Button – who foresees a hugely interesting agenda for COP. NavClimate is already working towards COP later this year in Egypt. And there’s the informal and formal participation at NavClimate’s partners’ events before then, for example, the IMPA congress in Spring in Mexico, the IMarEST's Annual Conference, the IAPH World Conference, PIANC’s events… 

In the meantime, the new five-year plan will be published, with enough in-built manoeuvrability to ensure the waterborne transport infrastructure sector can respond to whatever challenges come its way. “The plan has to be somewhat flexible to grow and change over the next five years,” says Button, “depending on what resources are available, so we have to be cognisant of that and allow some room to change, and flex our focus over time – but we think we’ve got a great framework to do that.”

Navigating a Changing Climate is a UNFCCC Global Climate Action initiative, hosted by Resilience Rising, that provides technical support to the inland and maritime navigation infrastructure sector as it responds to climate change. Mark Button is a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and is currently on secondment from Arup’s ports and infrastructure team to Resilience Rising, providing support to port and coastal resilience platforms and initiatives including NavClimate. 

Words/Marine Professional/Mark Button