Port resilience guidance, studies and tools can be useful for a wide range of practitioners but it can be hard to find the right one for the task at hand. We have assessed a wide range of tools, guidance documents and reports, which are listed below, mapped by the maritime resilience breakthroughs they support and the Port Resilience Framework for Action goals that they help to achieve.
Use the filters to break down the results by document type and community of practice.
IPCC
2023
This Synthesis Report (SYR) of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) summarises the state of knowledge of climate change, its widespread impacts and risks, and climate change mitigation and adaptation, based on the peer-reviewed scientific, technical and socio-economic literature since the publication of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) in 2014.
RTI International
2022
This report summarises existing evidence and estimates of the impacts and costs of climate-related hazards, as well as expands on these findings to provide new estimates of the potential global costs of climate change for shipping and ports.
Global Center on Adaptation
2025
This handbook distills leading practices and guidance on climate resilience and adaptation in infrastructure PPPs. It has been developed through a comprehensive review of existing resources and best practices, alongside consultations with industry experts, financial institutions, and practitioners with direct experience in implementing climate-resilient infrastructure projects.
Haskoning
2025
This white paper provides a comprehensive and practical framework to understand climate risks, plan adaptive responses, and integrate resilience into core business strategy.
World Bank
2025
This report outlines the potential role of nature-based solutions (NBS) in ports, demonstrating how they can be integrated into port planning, design, and operations to address key challenges while enhancing climate resilience and delivering additional co-benefits.
UK Green Building Council
2021
The Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap project aims to outline a common vision and agree upon industry-wide actions for achieving net zero carbon in the construction, operation, and demolition of buildings and infrastructure in the UK. The main areas of discussion include the carbon footprint for the UK built environment, the Net Zero Carbon trajectory to 2050, and policy recommendations with industry action plans to deliver the 2050 scenario.
Global Maritime Forum
2021
The Next Wave Green Corridors is a forward-thinking initiative that aims to transform the maritime industry’s environmental impact. The project advocates for the creation of sustainable shipping corridors to promote cleaner and more efficient maritime transportation. By integrating green technologies, alternative fuels, and digital solutions, it seeks to reduce emissions, enhance energy efficiency, and protect marine ecosystems. The initiative fosters collaboration among stakeholders, including governments, industry players, and environmental organizations, to drive systemic change in the maritime sector and pave the way for a more environmentally friendly and economically viable future for global shipping.
AIVP
2022
Port cities, facing climate change’s severe impacts, serve as testing grounds for innovative solutions in energy, industry, mobility, and culture. The AIVP Agenda 2030 outlines 10 key goals and 46 actionable measures for sustainable port cities. These goals align with multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing a holistic approach to sustainable development. AIVP aims to inspire port and city stakeholders to implement the Agenda 2030, optimizing investments and resources for a resilient, environmentally-friendly, and economically vibrant future.
Nordic Development Fund, Inter-American Development Bank, Laera
2020
This sheet is a summary of the PMCR broader report. It aims to evaluate the port sector in Colombia to identify varying climate risks and the corresponding stakeholders impacted by this risk. It summarizes the BRPM tool used to assess ports by conducting a value-chain analysis that focuses on climate risks and impacts. These results are then used to inform potential resilience solutions to the risk associated with ports in Colombia.
Morris, Lauren L., Tracie Sempier, Ports Resilience Expert Committee (NOAA)
2016
A self-assessment tool that places ports at the forefront of community resilience in the marine transportation sector. The PRI aims to provide an assessment tool to analyse a ports preparedness for functionality and operation during and post-disaster. This approach is offered in a simplified format that targets ports strengths and vulnerabilities within their site management and operations.
Port of Long Beach The Green Port
2016
In response to the rising threat of climate change, the Port of Long Beach developed the Climate Adaptation and Coastal Resiliency Plan to aid in managing risks caused from these hazards. The Coastal Resiliency Plan offers a framework to both determine and manage climate change risk, (i.e., sea level rise) to ensure sufficient preparedness and to maintain functionality of port operations and supply chain efforts.
Port Authority NY NJ
2018
The Climate Resilience and Design Guidelines serves to supplement the building code requirements through incorporating climate change projections, namely sea level rise, into their design process of infrastructure. These efforts aim to guide the port authoritys goal of bolstering better safety, service, and resilience of infrastructure to withstand the increase in climate change hazard.
PIANC
2023
PIANC’s Working Group 157 presents international best management practices in its guidelines to protect coastal plant habitats like mangroves, salt marshes, seagrass beds, and macroalgal communities during dredging and construction activities. These ecosystems play a crucial role in climate change mitigation, offering coastal protection and carbon storage. The guide emphasizes environmental monitoring, adaptive management, impact assessment, and techniques for minimizing, mitigating, or compensating damage. It also highlights habitat restoration and beneficial reuse of dredged materials. Crafted by a team of global experts, the guidelines incorporate case studies and aim to facilitate responsible environmental management in coastal plant habitats near dredging and construction sites worldwide, albeit without mandatory compliance.
PIANC
2023
This report updates the 2008 EnviCom Task Group 3 on Climate Change and Navigation by incorporating knowledge from various IPCC reports. It highlights key findings, including rising air and water temperatures leading to increased sea levels, more intense extreme weather events, and ongoing impacts even if greenhouse gas emissions cease. The report delves into how these changes affect maritime and inland navigation, encompassing factors like wind conditions, waves, storm patterns, hydrodynamics, and water quality. It also discusses navigation’s role in greenhouse gas emissions and its potential to aid in emission reduction efforts. Adaptation measures and resilience strengthening are emphasized.
PIANC
2023
The report by PIANC’s Task Group 234 addresses the need for infrastructure to support zero-emission vessels in inland waterway transport (IWT). It compiles insights on decarbonization developments and energy carriers, offering key questions and a method for addressing infrastructure challenges. The report recommends PIANC to establish a working group focused on pathways and decision-making for decarbonizing IWT rather than just hardware specifications. The document, submitted for PIANC’s consideration, provides seven case studies demonstrating sustainable practices, including the Panama Canal’s success and lessons learned from the unsustainable Mississippi River Gulf Outlet in the USA.
PIANC
2023
This PIANC report addresses the need for innovative and sustainable approaches to manage dredged sediment in light of societal challenges like urbanization, environmental pressures, and climate change. It emphasizes the principles of Beneficial Use (BU) while recognizing the varying socio-economic, environmental, and legal conditions across regions. The report underscores the importance of evaluating BU potential diligently for sediment dredging projects, tailored to site-specific conditions. It outlines how dredged sediment can yield environmental, societal, and economic benefits, aiming to inform and promote BU practices on a global scale. Achieving these goals calls for a shift in perspectives, requiring collaborative planning among stakeholders for future BU projects.
US Army Corps of Engineers
2013
Coastal areas are especially vulnerable to hazards, now and in the future, posed by waves and surges associated with sea level change and coastal storms. Coastal risk reduction can be achieved through a variety of approaches, including natural or nature-based features (e.g., wetlands and dunes), nonstructural interventions (e.g., policies, building codes and emergency response such as early warning and evacuation plans), and structural interventions (e.g., seawalls and breakwaters). This paper discusses USACEs capabilities to help reduce coastal risks from and improve resilience to these hazards through an integrated approach that draws from the full array of coastal risk reduction measures.
IAPH
2023
Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, IAPH set up a COVID-19 Taskforce. Additional port experts have now joined, establishing IAPHs Risk and Resilience Technical Committee. The publication is focussed on organisational resilience models for Port Authorities, by analysing risks, understanding spheres of control and influence and developing before/during/after plans. The portal has been designed as a pragmatic, practical tool that can be applied by a port irrespective of size, technical characteristics or governance model.
The guidelines are focussed on organisational resilience models for Port Authorities, based on analysing the risks they face, understanding their spheres of control and influence (and thus stakeholders they need to engage with), and developing a ‘before/during/after’ plan.
UNCTAD
2022
The guidebook offers a comprehensive approach to enhancing resilience in the maritime supply chain, primarily focusing on container ports. It outlines strategies for risk identification, assessment, and management, covering measures to be taken before, during, and after disruptions. The target audience includes various stakeholders in the port ecosystem, such as government agencies, port authorities, operators, and others. The guidebook is structured into four parts, addressing risk management concepts, hazard scenarios, case studies, and additional resources. Its primary goal is to foster collaboration among stakeholders to ensure the continued reliability of container ports, which are vital to global trade.