The Pacific Ports Clean Air Collaborative (PPCAC) is a voluntary group of international participants from ports, private industries, and environmental agencies throughout Central America, North America, and Pacific Rim countries. The goal of the PPCAC is to share information about what other trade partners are focusing on, collaborate on common air and environmental issues, learn from each other, and work jointly to develop and evaluate potential port policies and mitigation measures. It serves as recognition that no one port can solve these complex problems and issues alone, and provides a venue for information sharing and problem solving.

In 2006, stemming from their existing sister-port relationship, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Shanghai, together with the USEPA and MARAD, sponsored the first PPCAC Conference as a way to discuss challenges and solutions to air pollution created by port operations. Approximately 150 participants from more than 25 ports and related entities worldwide traveled to Los Angeles to attend the inaugural conference. The three-day conference wrapped with a ceremonial “commitment” among conference participants, signaling their willingness to attend future conferences in order to continue dialogue about common challenges emerging technologies and viable initiatives for reducing air emissions at ports all over the Pacific Rim. Then in 2008, the Port of Shanghai held a second conference in Shanghai, China, around Climate Change.

The Port of Los Angeles is proud to host the third PPCAC Conference, Challenges for a Sustainable Future, in February of 2012.