ABSTRACT
Ports and maritime transportation deliver low cost transport and facilitate international trade. The vast majority of raw materials and manufactured goods traded are carried from port to port along the world’s oceans and rivers; however, highly efficient ports and shipping also present environmental consequences for coastal, ocean, and freshwater environments. This entry provides an overview of the impacts ports and shipping have on the environment, as well as a discussion of the unique problems that climate change poses to this critical sector of the global economy.
