Background

Over the past year, the Goldman School has deepened its engagement with a wide range of stakeholders and decision makers with interests in sustainability and climate impacts of the Port of Oakland.  These contacts include Port of Oakland Management, City of Oakland, including Mayor Schaaf’s office, Environmental Justice Leaders, Bay Area and state air quality regulators (BAAQMD and CARB), and industry groups (California Trucking Association, CALSTART).  This experience complements growing research commitments on freight and transport at the Institutes for Transportation Studies at UC Davis, Berkeley, Riverside and Los Angeles campuses and at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

A key theme emerging from these contacts is the need for research support and stakeholder coordination.  Efforts to decarbonize and reduce diesel emissions at California ports require action by a wide range of people and institutions, often on a voluntary basis.  For example, an increase in electric trucks to serve port operations requires multiparty investment in electric supply, battery charging, microgrids and other infrastructure by the Port, Terminal Operators, trucking firms PG&E, and state agencies.  Similarly, cooperation and information exchange among many diverse parties is needed to support procurement of advanced vehicles and charging infrastructure. 

Port and Oakland city officials frequently cite the absence staffing to carry out targeted research and to coordinate actors on a variety of critical path actions, including:  electrification infrastructure; vehicle inventory and duty-cycle research; alternative finance models for infrastructure; and diesel emission control/enforcement.

The Goldman School hope to serve as connective tissue between University Centers and key stakeholders, to ensure that research and planning coordination effectively support industry and state decision-making on infrastructure and equipment procurement.