Launched in 2021, the River Cities Alliance is a nationwide Indian initiative to promote sustainable development of towns and cities along the country’s inland waterways. The RCA is overseen by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and some 145 municipalities are currently part of the programme. The main objective is to foster a more river-centric approach to urban development.  Member towns and cities are encouraged to trade best practices through a combination of upskilling workshops, face-to-face stakeholder meetings, and technical and financial support packages, particularly for developing Urban River Management Plans or URMPs. The 2025 action plan has just been approved, with URMPs for a further 25 towns and cities.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Advisory is helping Growthfund, Greece’s National Investment Fund in reinforcing the climate resilience of Greek ports. The project will address climate risks such as coastal flooding, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events. EIB’s support will help assessing financial impacts to recommend adaptation measures. The initiative follows EU climate policies and should ensure long-term sustainability for the ports of Volos, Alexandroupolis, and Patras and embodies EIB’s guidelines to climate action.

The Port of Gothenburg’s (Sweden) Skandia Gateway fairway deepening project, launched in April 2023, is reducing its carbon footprint by 10,000 tons of CO₂e through active choices. The project involves deepening a 5-kilometer stretch of the fairway and reinforcing the container terminal quay and aims at cutting climate impact by over 30%. To that end, the port prioritizes sustainability at every step, from material choices to alternative construction or transportation technique. An incentive model has also been installed to reward contractors for exceeding environmental standards. The project is expected to complete by early 2028.

The strategically important port of Shahid Rajaee (Iran) on the Strait of Hormuz handles nearly 85% of the country’s cargo traffic. On 26 April 2025, an explosion at one of the terminal’s wharves caused numerous casualties and was heard up to 50 kilometres away. The Iranian customs authorities say the accident was probably caused by a fire in a storage depot housing chemicals, putting local people at risk of exposure to harmful substances. The incident bears similarities to the explosion at the port of Beirut (Lebanon), which destroyed part of the city on 4 August 2020. Both incidents serve to highlight the challenges and risks of having industrial port activities close to urban centres, and should prompt calls for safer, better integrated sustainable development of port cities.

Many port authorities worldwide are taking action to enhance marine biodiversity through innovative solutions. One notable initiative is the “living seawall,” implemented along San Francisco’s Embarcadero seawall (United States) and in the port village of Amlwch Port (Wales). The project in San Francisco, launched in 2022, has already shown positive results, with the seawalls becoming new habitats for marine life. Another approach involves the installation of specially designed concrete blocks within breakwaters by the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (Spain), as part of its broader commitment to protecting the marine environment, particularly in the ports of Portixol and Molinar. Moreover, the Port of Algeciras (Spain) installed six biomimetic microreefs in 2024 and is actively monitoring their impact by measuring biomass growth, the colonization of new species, and carbon capture. These cases reflect a growing trend among ports not only to minimize their environmental footprint but also to actively contribute to restoring and enriching marine ecosystems.