Hamburg port anniversary: ​​criticism from environmentalists | > – News

From: May 8, 2024 12:14 PM

The organizers of the port anniversary expect hundreds of thousands of visitors again. Nature conservation association NABU complains that particulate pollution during the celebration is very high due to the many ships.

Many people travel to Hamburg especially for the port anniversary. It is therefore an important event for tourism in the city. Environmentalists, on the other hand, see it as “completely out of date.”

NABU: “Air pollution in the port”

“We continue to call for the port anniversary to be made more sustainable and there are always conflicting objectives. The city always pretends to take all sustainability aspects into account,” says Malte Siegert, director of NABU Hamburg. He also criticizes the tractor ballet, in which “5,000 hp machines blow a lot of fuel again.” The many large and small ships that run on fossil fuels “damage the climate and especially pollute the air at the northern edge of the port.”

Shipping companies on growth path

Particularly criticized: cruise shipping. The high season has been running since April. After the end of the pandemic years, the major shipping companies see themselves back on a growth path. “The subject of shipping companies and cruises to and from Hamburg – there is a major development: on the landside, the city is doing a lot here in terms of supplying ships. But also the shipping companies. In this respect, we consider the involvement of the shipping companies to be positive overall, even though the targets have now been postponed,” says Sascha Albertsen, head of communications at Hamburg Tourismus GmbH. Malte Siegert of Nabu responds: “I find it strange that a shipping company is being highlighted with a drone show that has just postponed its climate goals from 2040 to 2050.”

Sustainability on the NGO mile

The topic of sustainability is now also on the agenda: “This year, for example, the topic of sustainability will be discussed for the first time at an NGO mile,” says Albertsen. The theme of events is becoming increasingly sustainable and concepts are also being implemented there to reduce the footprint.

Sustainability not a priority

But sustainability is not the highest priority for most visitors, but the atmosphere is. And gradually the city fills with visitors from all directions. “We expect many visitors from Hamburg, from the metropolitan region and also from outside the city. And the port anniversary is a very important driving force for Hamburg economically, also in terms of visitor numbers,” says Albertsen.

Nabu: “Fireworks are no longer appropriate”

Malte Siegert, on the other hand, answers: “You can of course celebrate the port’s birthday, because it is also a tourist event for the city. We would have liked to just do a laser show or just one with drones. Now you do a drone show and, to be honest, I don’t think classic fireworks are of this time anymore.”

More information

Hamburg is celebrating its 835th port anniversary. Photos, videos and information about the folk festival in the Hanseatic city. more

The background is that shipping company Hapag-Lloyd no longer wants to come to Hamburg with very large container freight ships in the future. (22-01-2024) more

According to research, cruise ships in the port produce approximately as much sulfur oxides as all the cars in the Hanseatic city. (16-06-2023) more

This topic in the program:

Hamburgs Dagblad | April 7, 2022 | 7:30 PM

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