SAFARI at the ESPO 2025 Conference: Bringing Port Resilience into the Green Transition

In May 2025, SAFARI Ports joined the ESPO Conference in Thessaloniki, where leading European port authorities gathered to discuss the future of sustainable and climate-smart port planning.

During the breakout session “Green Port Masterplanning: Taking the Lessons from European Projects to Your Port”, hosted by the MAGPIE and PIONEERS projects, participants explored how European initiatives are helping ports move toward zero-emission masterplans. The interactive workshop gave representatives from ports across Europe a platform to exchange views on decarbonisation priorities, expectations, and real-world challenges.

Caya Dhuique-Hein, Project Leader at AIVP, contributed to the discussion by bringing forward the perspective of port resilience, a critical complement to green ambitions. Representing both SAFARI and its sister initiative CLARION, she emphasised a simple but essential idea: a Green Port Masterplan is not complete without a resilience strategy.

As Caya underlined, sustainability cannot be achieved if port infrastructure and operations remain exposed to climate-related disruptions such as storms, floods, or heatwaves. The SAFARI and CLARION projects advocate for an integrated approach that blends mitigation and adaptation, ensuring that ports are not only greener but also stronger and more prepared for future shocks.

Events like ESPO 2025 are vital spaces for connecting European projects, aligning visions, and sharing the knowledge that will shape the next generation of sustainable, resilient, and future-proof ports.

🙏 Many thanks to the organisers of ESPO 2025 and to all participating ports for engaging in this collective effort toward a more robust maritime future.

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