The Long Beach harbor commission this week approved a cooperative agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District that commits its port — and the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, whose commissioners will vote on the agreement next week — to developing and implementing zero-emissions infrastructure.
Long Beach commissioners approved the agreement unanimously.
Port of Los Angeles commissioners will take up the issue at their Nov. 20 meeting, after which the three parties are expected to execute the agreement.
The air quality district’s Governing Board approved the agreement on Friday, Nov. 7. It commits the two ports to developing and implementing plans for zero-emissions infrastructure for equipment types in three phases, starting with a draft plan in May 2027. That would be followed by approved plans in place for all categories by the end of 2029.
“This is a milestone more than a decade in the making,” South Coast AQMD Governing Board Chair Vanessa Delgado said in a written statement, “and reflects a collective commitment to cleaner air for the South Coast region.”
But not everyone is on board with the move.
Environmental groups, including the Coalition for Clean Air, criticized the agreement, calling it a closed-door “cooperative agreement” with the San Pedro Bay ports. The coalition, in a news release, said the South Coast AQMD “has surrendered its regulatory authority to the ports. In effect, the ports — the largest single source of harmful nitrogen oxide emissions in the smoggiest air basin in the country — have dictated the next five years of air quality policy in Southern California.”
The South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
“We oppose the decision to allow the ports to self-regulate,” said Dori Chandler, a policy advocate for the Coalition for Clean Air. “The air district has given the ports permission to continue to pollute the air for 17 million people living in the region without consequence or accountability.”
Chris Chavez, deputy policy director at the Coalition for Clean Air, agreed, and added that the decision will negatively impact the health of the region’s residents.
But Mike Jacob, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, backed the agreement.
“This historic agreement represents a balanced, results-driven approach to investing in the infrastructure necessary to continue our incredible progress on air quality improvement at Southern California’s seaports,” Jacob said in a statement. “(The agreement) was the result of earnest negotiations by all parties, grounded in a common vision to make reasonable efforts to achieve even greater levels of cleaner air without disrupting the economic engine that is the San Pedro Bay Ports Complex.
“The real-world transition to zero emissions is an ambitious, complicated and expensive proposition,” Jacob added. “While the cooperative agreement’s implementation schedules will be aggressive, it allows for new technologies to fail before they succeed and costs that will fluctuate, all while acknowledging that success depends on factors beyond the direct control of the ports, their tenants, utilities, equipment manufacturers and the air district.”
The agreement also drew support from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
South Coast AQMD, as part of the agreement, will verify implementation and progress through annual reports and regular reporting to its Governing Board.
Penalties for noncompliance range from $50,000 to $200,000 per default and will be used toward projects benefiting communities near the ports.
A 45-day exit clause provides flexibility for either party to withdraw, if necessary.
Since 2022, South Coast AQMD has hosted nearly 30 public meetings, including Governing Board, Mobile Source Committee meetings and community meetings, and office hours. Public feedback directly influenced key items, AQMD said in a press release, including enforcement, doubled penalties and public process for the development and modifications of infrastructure plans.
The AQMD Governing Board also adopted a resolution to pause rulemaking for five years — unless the agreement is terminated early — allowing time for the infrastructure planning needed while preserving the district’s authority to resume creating regulations, if needed.
Taken together, according to the South Coast AQMD and supporters, the overall actions will build on the voluntary Clean Air Action Plan adopted by both ports in 2005. That voluntary agreement, supporters said, has led to success in cutting emissions from port-related sources, including reductions of 90% in diesel particulate matter, 68% in nitrogen oxides and 98% in sulfur oxides from port-related sources.
“I commend the South Coast Air Quality Management District for its willingness to compromise, and all of the work by staff from the agency and both ports in recent months to develop this agreement in a transparent and open process,” Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero said in a written statement. “Collaboration has been a key to our success in reducing environmental impacts. Together, with the participation and active support of the ports, SCAQMD, labor, industry, energy suppliers and utilities, technology developers and community representatives – which this agreement will intensify – I am confident we can reach our shared goal of a zero-emissions future.”
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka also expressed support in a written comment.
“We welcome the AQMD Governing Board’s adoption of the collaborative agreement and accompanying resolution,” he said. “If approved by our harbor commission, the agreement will serve as the foundation for a new era of collaboration between the ports and the South Coast AQMD as we work together toward our shared clean air goals.”
In the months ahead, according to the AQMD, the ports will also continue working with the agency on additional “CAAP Plus” measures that will focus on emission-reducing strategies related to cleaner oceangoing vessels, the largest source of emissions at the ports, through strategies like the Environmental Ship Index Incentive Programs. The measures could also include strategies like committing Clean Truck Fund Rate revenue to subsidize the transition to zero-emission trucks and infrastructure, developing a zero-emissions drayage truck utilization incentive program and consulting annually with SCAQMD on spending priorities.
The additional CAAP Plus measures will be negotiated by the parties, with a spring 2026 completion target.
The agreement, Long Beach harbor commission President Frank Colonna said in a written statement, “will deliver tangible results and a sustainable future without risking jobs or cargo throughput.”
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson called the agreement “a major step” in the overall effort to reach zero-emissions — while also strengthening “regional economic growth with good-paying jobs.”
“Environmental progress and economic leadership are no longer competing goals—they must move forward together,” Richardson said. “This collaborative agreement marks a major step toward a more sustainable port complex that protects community health, advances our climate action commitments, and strengthens regional economic growth with good-paying jobs.
“By accelerating zero-emission infrastructure,” the mayor added, “we will deliver cleaner air, healthier neighborhoods, and a greener global supply chain that reaches far beyond our two cities.”
South Coast AQMD and the ports will continue negotiating on additional measures to expand emission-reduction efforts, with updates expected in the spring. Those future actions will focus on near-term emission reductions and support for long-term, zero-emission goals, the district said.
For more information, visit aqmd.gov/portsagreement.