Ports are under growing pressure to reduce emissions, adopt cleaner energy and adapt to climate risks. But for many port operators, particularly in developing economies, the challenge is not simply identifying greener technologies. It is finding the long-term capital and stable policy conditions needed to put them into practice.

The transition can be expensive. Electrifying port equipment, expanding shore-power facilities, developing clean-energy infrastructure and improving supporting transport systems all require substantial investment. The benefits may take years to materialize, while the costs often arise upfront.

A 2025 brief by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on green port financing identifies adequate funding and robust policies as important conditions for maritime decarbonization. It also points to the need for financing mechanisms that can reduce risks and support long-term investment.

The financing question was a central theme at a dialogue on port-city development held at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in eastern China on Nov. 3. Zhou Qiangwu, Former Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the New Development Bank, outlined three areas that could help ports, especially those in developing economies, advance their green transition: multilateral development finance, policy predictability and cooperation among ports.

Long-term capital for long-term projects

Port infrastructure is capital-intensive and typically has a long investment cycle. For smaller ports, the cost of green upgrades can be particularly difficult to absorb, especially when cargo volumes are limited and investment returns uncertain.

Zhou said multilateral development banks can help address this gap by providing relatively low-cost, long-term financing. Their role, he argued, goes beyond lending: development finance can also help establish risk-sharing arrangements, reduce investment risks and attract private capital.

This matters because public funding alone may not be sufficient to finance the scale of infrastructure upgrades required. By helping make projects more financially viable, multilateral institutions can potentially bring in other investors, including private-sector funds.

The key issue is not simply how much money is available, but whether projects can be structured in a way that gives investors greater confidence in their long-term viability.

Policy certainty is part of the investment equation

Financing costs are also influenced by the policy environment in which a project operates.

Zhou pointed to the importance of stable, long-term green port development plans and predictable arrangements for issues such as shore-power pricing, concessions and land use. Uncertainty in these areas can increase perceived risks and make investors more cautious, even when the underlying technology is available.

For ports, this means that a green transition cannot be treated solely as an engineering task. It also requires consistent planning and coordination among port authorities, local governments, regulators and investors.

A clear policy framework can help investors assess costs, estimate returns and make decisions over a longer time horizon. Without that predictability, even technically feasible projects may struggle to secure financing.

Cooperation can help spread the cost

Zhou also argued that ports in the same or neighboring regions could work together on common green standards, joint procurement of equipment, shared maintenance expertise and green shipping corridors.

The logic is particularly relevant for smaller ports. Developing emissions-accounting systems, purchasing cleaner equipment and maintaining new technologies can be costly when undertaken independently. Cooperation may help spread those costs and improve the utilization of green infrastructure.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port provides an example of investment in clean-energy infrastructure. Yu Fengqing, vice mayor of Ningbo, said the port had built an integrated wind, solar, energy-storage and hydrogen project, as well as Zhejiang Province's first green-power port. He added that the port's clean-energy utilization rate had exceeded 70 percent.

Such projects demonstrate what sustained investment can make possible. But the experience of a large port cannot simply be replicated by smaller ports with different financial resources, energy systems and operating conditions.

The broader challenge is to make green investment accessible across ports at different stages of development. That requires more than new equipment or ambitious targets. It calls for financing that matches the long life of port infrastructure, policies that reduce uncertainty, and cooperation that allows ports to share costs and expertise.

The green transition will not be determined by technology alone. Its pace will also depend on whether ports can afford to make the change.