Louisiana: Zero-Emission Ports and a More Sustainable Future
Written by: Terrance L. Bankston, Senior Ports and Freight Campaigner, and Tyler R. Johnson, Ports and Community Engagement Assistant, Friends of the Earth (FoE)
Contributors: Rise St James Photos are courtesy of: Friends of the Earth and Fast Action on Super Pollutants Today
In 2024, Friends of the Earth and Fast Action on Super Pollutants Today embarked on a groundbreaking advocacy campaign focused on the busiest Port communities in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic, Northwest, and Southeast regions. FAST is an organization created to support and increase capacity for advocates across the US working on campaigns to reduce super pollutants like methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons. Our Zero Emissions Ports campaign was co-created by representatives of community-based organizations across different port regions throughout the US and through engagement with a set of zero-emission transportation funders, including the Pisces Foundation, Climate Imperative, ClimateWorks Foundation, and Zero Now Fund. To address key barriers to 100% electrification of the global transportation system, the strategy supports local organizing, regional and national coordination of zero-emission initiatives, port leadership development, organizational capacity building, and broader movement building.
One of our piloted initiatives with FAST included partnering with community-based organizations along the Gulf Coast and throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Northwest regions on zero emissions-based campaigns. In December 2024, FoE and FAST partnered with Rise St. James Louisiana to plan a statewide convening on zero emissions and advancing Environmental Justice within portside communities. Rise St. James Louisiana is a faith-based grassroots organization fighting for environmental justice as it works to defeat the proliferation of petrochemical industries in St. James Parish, Louisiana. Led by Sharon Lavigne, 2021’s Goldman Environmental Prize winner, Rise St. James galvanized community opposition and successfully defeated the construction of a $1.25 billion plastics manufacturing plant in 2018. The group is fighting to prevent Formosa Plastics from building a massive multibillion-dollar plastics plant in the parish.
In December 2024, at the Tulane River and Coastal Center in New Orleans, RISE St. James Louisiana, Friends of the Earth and Fast Action On Super Pollutants (FAST) met to discuss zero-emission ports and a more sustainable future for Louisiana. Given the recent announcement by the U.S. EPA that the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development was selected to receive almost $3 million of clean ports investments, this was a well-timed discussion on strategies that will impact climate goals and community health in Louisiana.
There are steps to address environmental health in port communities that all readers in Louisiana can take. Dr. Kimberly Terrell, Research Scientist and Director of Community Outreach at Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, when asked what impacted residents in port communities can do regularly, said, “Report, report, report, and pressure elected officials regarding permitting and following regulations.”
“It was a blessing to be able to secure Ellu Nasser as a project ally representing FAST.” Ellu has over 20 years of experience working on the intersection of public health, climate change, and Environmental Justice, her work is focused on finding solutions for the impacts that freight transport has on air pollution, community health, and climate change by supporting community priorities and working to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions at ports across the country. She also has spent 7 years collaborating with the U.S. -based Tribal communities on Climate Adaptation planning to enhance the resilience of Tribal Nations. Her goal is to continue advocating for resources, policies, and programs that realize meaningful improvements to climate change and health providing equal protection for all communities.
The outcomes or changes we planned to see from this convening, both for the marginalized community and for the broader Environmental Justice movement around the Port of Louisiana, are coming to fruition in places like Newark, New Jersey, and New Orleans.
We planned for local and national stakeholders concerned about environmental health, to learn from shared experiences related to poor air quality deriving from pollution linked to the operations of their local port and diesel trucks traveling throughout port communities, near schools, parks, and playgrounds, to engage in port-related business. Those who attended have committed to engage in ongoing work sessions to explore possible policy campaigns that advance Environmental Justice at Louisiana ports, particularly with two goals in mind:
- Goal 1: Establish a Community Advisory Council at the Ports of NOLA and S. Louisiana modeled after other ports;
- Goal 2: Push the Ports of NOLA / S. Louisiana to develop zero-emissions goals, policies, and programs.
The key to planning and successfully executing this type of convening was ensuring that we incorporated the voices and perspectives of the directly impacted community members and empowered each other in shaping the goals and agenda for the convening. Our Ports and Environmental Justice team worked with our national funding partners at the Fast Action on Super Pollutants and our local community partner Rise St. James Louisiana for three months on planning the in-person committee, with the voices and concerns of local communities, guiding both the intent of our collective action based work. We also hoped the goals of the day at least half of the convening included conversations on advancing zero emission goals and learning about the importance of emission inventories, as well as the advantages of electrification and shore power. Before the planning phase, FoE’s Oceans and Vessels program’s Ports and EJ team collaborated with Rise St. James for two years, coordinating and engaging in local Port or Environmental Justice Tours, webinars, and other programs for residents to engage with Port officials and Environmental Justice advocates as well as learn about the health impacts of pollution caused by ports and positive ways to mediate or better address the poor air quality experiences at a more severe rate within portside communities. Through these channels, FoE was able to conduct field research and engage local communities directly for almost two years before co-planning and co-hosting the 1st statewide convening on Environmental Justice and Zero-Emission Ports – A Vision for a Sustainable Future for Louisiana.
Jeffery Darensbourg Ph.D. in cognitive science shared during the convening, “So many topics we talked about today are important to me, for example, the health of the people at ports. My family suffers tremendously from the environmental impact in the area. I’ve had surgery for lymphoma. People in my family have died from leukemia and have had asthma. While people that have grown up in more rural areas in the parishes aren’t affected with as many health conditions.”
The interest and engagement in the convening warrants continued support and sources to ensure sustained future advocacy and action, particularly in terms of long-term Environmental Justice initiatives. Therefore, FoE’s Oceans and Vessels program is vested in supporting the ongoing zero emissions advocacy initiatives in 2025, such as increasing the amount of seed funding available to Rise St. James Louisiana to help fund their work around zero emissions efforts and the formation of a local Port advisory council. Additionally, FoE is working with private foundations who fund zero emissions work to provide grant mapping support for local campaign efforts led by Rise St. James Louisiana, and to provide technical assistance related to requests for funding proposals.. Moreover, FoE has identified resources through the Zero Now Fund and others to support communication-based campaign efforts throughout 2025, including a new podcast! In partnership with Rise St. James Louisiana and others, FoE’s Oceans and Vessels program will launch a 12-part series focused on Ports and Environmental Justice. The primary purpose of the podcast series is to document and amplify the stories around Environmental Justice and locals leading efforts in overburdened communities from Seattle to New Orleans.
In terms of measuring the success of this initiative, we plan to focus on::
- The level and quality of the local and state engagement from port officials and decision-makers impacting Ports and port operations.
- The quality of cleaning shipping and zero emissions related campaigns planned and successfully executed, as well as policies developed and implemented locally and at the federal levels about air quality and the electrification of our Ports.
- The adoption of federal policies that help advance zero emissions efforts and drive funding to address the impacts of climate change, including the poor air quality that comes from and surrounds our local ports and the portside communities.
Our fundraising and funding priorities are centered around a theory of change that assumes that community-led efforts by Port-adjacent Environmental Justice and other local groups will positively impact or affect port decision-making as it relates to 1) increasing grant applications to Port-side communities and 2) advancing Port environmental stewardship.
Sharon C. Lavigne, the founder of RISE St. James Louisiana, said that the port officials like those in Louisiana are following a recurring pattern. They promise more jobs “while ignoring the devastating impacts on communities already burdened by pollution. Our front-line communities, from the Lower 9th Ward to St. James deserve meaningful engagement and a seat at the table when decisions are made about projects that directly affect our health and future.” With our campaign and efforts like the recent convening in Louisiana, we aim to secure that healthier and more just future.
For more about Rise St. James Louisiana – Click here.
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