MAGPIE Emission mapping tool

Emission mapping is the use of data, modelling and interactive visualisation to estimate where, when and from which activities emissions arise in and around a port. For a port authority, the value is not simply to produce another emissions total, but to make emissions understandable in their operational and geographic context. The Emission Mapping Tool developed by IFPEN was designed to contextualise CO2 emissions from port-related activities with emissions from surrounding areas, so that decision-makers can see the relative contribution of port activities and the wider road network over the course of a day. It is therefore best understood as a planning and monitoring aid: a way to turn dispersed data into an evidence base that can be discussed across operational, environmental and strategic teams. The approach combines two complementary views. For road traffic, emissions can be estimated at road-segment level from road characteristics, traffic flows and vehicle-fleet composition. For container terminals, emissions are estimated from port activity, including trucks, straddle carriers and lifting cranes; emissions from ships at berth can also be represented. Results are brought together on a common spatial and temporal frame and presented through maps, indicators and time profiles, in a form that local authorities can interrogate without running the underlying models themselves.

The tool is most valuable where port activities interact with dense hinterland traffic or urban areas, but the underlying approach can be adapted to different port profiles. The level of detail depends on the availability of activity data and the sources that the port chooses to represent.

Implementation is mainly a data and governance exercise rather than a major physical-infrastructure project. The port needs to define the decision questions, agree the geographical and temporal scope, identify data owners, and establish a process for maintaining and validating the data. The technical platform can then ingest data, run the modelling workflow and publish results through an interactive dashboard.

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Roles should be assigned around data ownership, model assumptions, validation and decision use. Not every stakeholder must interact with the technical platform directly; many provide inputs or review the results. Port Authority: Own the objective, define the scope and KPIs, coordinate data access, validate results and embed findings in the port strategy. Provide, where feasible, vessel-call and berth-related information and discuss scenarios such as shore power or changes in vessel operations. Terminal Operators: Provide throughput, equipment activity, equipment characteristics and operational assumptions; validate whether mapped patterns reflect terminal reality. National & International Regulators: Provide relevant methodological, reporting or air-quality requirements and use results as supplementary evidence where appropriate. The mapping tool should not be assumed to replace official inventories or regulatory reporting without validation. Research & Development Institutions: Improve models, validate assumptions, extend pollutants or scenarios, quantify uncertainty and adapt the approach to new port contexts. Local Government & Community Groups: Provide local context, identify issues of shared concern and use the results to support dialogue on port-city impacts.