Nature Positive: Role of the Port Sector

The report outlines how the port sector, critical to 80% of global trade, contributes to nature loss through land/sea use change, GHG emissions, pollution, and invasive species. It argues for a 'double materiality' approach to manage these risks and proposes five priority actions—sensitive planning, clean energy adoption, pollution mitigation, circular economy promotion, and active nature restoration—which could unlock over $54 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030.

• The port sector is a critical economic driver, employing 30 million people directly and supporting 90 million indirect jobs globally, with maritime trade facilitating 80% of global trade.
• Ports face significant physical risks from climate change; 86% are exposed to more than three natural hazards, and a 40 cm sea-level rise could render ports in Houston, Shanghai, and Lazaro Cardenas completely unusable.
• The four primary drivers of nature loss in the port sector are land, water, and sea use change; greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; pollution; and the proliferation of invasive species.
• Port construction and maintenance, particularly dredging to ensure navigational safety, cause significant biodiversity loss and habitat destruction on the ocean floor.
• The risk of marine biological invasion is projected to increase by a factor of 3 to 20 over the next 30 years, primarily driven by ballast water, biofouling, and cargo transport.
• Implementing five priority actions—sensitive planning, clean energy/materials, pollution/invasive species mitigation, circular economy, and nature restoration—could unlock more than $54 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030.
• The report advocates for the 'double materiality' principle, where businesses assess both their impact on the environment (impact materiality) and the risks arising from their dependencies on nature (financial materiality).
• To achieve a nature-positive transition, the report recommends the ACT-D framework: Assess (materiality), Commit (science-based targets), Transform (avoid/reduce/restore), and Disclose (transparent reporting).

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Nature Positive: Role of the Port Sector. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Ports_Sector.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Nature Positive: Role of the Port Sector. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Ports_Sector.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Nature Positive: Role of the Port Sector |date=January 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Ports_Sector.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025nature, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Nature Positive: Role of the Port Sector}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Ports_Sector.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }