THE GreenPort Congress Oceania conference at Wests Newcastle this week has provided a rare glimpse into the financial pressures facing the world of commercial shipping in general, and the Port of Newcastle in particular.
The theme of the three-day gathering, which concludes today with a tour of the port, has been "balancing environmental considerations with economic demands".
It's no secret the world of big business has embraced a radical agenda of climate-related change that emerged from the fringes, and was arguably still some distance from mainstream acceptance when the NSW government leased the Port of Newcastle to the present Australian/Chinese ownership team in 2014 for $1.75 billion, paid upfront.
Now, the term "sustainability" and its derivatives are everywhere, and as yesterday's conference speakers made clear, it's embedded in such a way that the financial future of the port now depends on a wholesale move away from the coal that has dominated its history and still provides most of its earnings.
The port has a target to achieve half of its income from non-coal sources by 2030, now just seven years away.
As a target alone that's bold enough, but as speakers from the National Australia Bank and the port itself made clear yesterday, there are penalties for failure.
Miss the annual benchmarks of progress along the way, and the port will find itself paying more for the finance it has needs to ensure its continued operation.
Last year the port unveiled a $28.4 million pair of Liebherr mobile harbour cranes as part of its diversification strategy.
Yesterday, the conference heard that the lease for the hybrid diesel and electric powered cranes was purposefully "aligned with the port's green financing framework".
With the big banks making no secret of their disinclination to finance coal-related projects, it may be the port has little choice but to accept "sustainable" lending criteria.
The best way for the port to reduce its reliance on coal is to build its other businesses, which is why the Newcastle container terminal is such a fundamental part of its economic future - a future at least partly determined by its lenders.
The conference heard that "sustainable" finance is expected to eventually impact "everyone", all the way to the humble home loan.
That will be, indeed, a funding revolution.
Read more: Conference opening day
ISSUE: 39,832
To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald's upgraded news app here.
