Construction and Benefit Evaluation of the Standardized System for Green Transformation of Ports along the "Belt and Road Initiative" — Based on Multi-source Data and Dynamic Efficiency Analysis

Abstract

The green transformation of ports along the Belt and Road Initiative faces dual challenges of the absence of a standardized system and insufficient methods for benefit assessment, which seriously hinders the progress of cross-border port low-carbon cooperation. To address this, this study innovatively constructs a four-dimensional standardized indicator system covering environmental performance, energy structure, technological innovation, and policy coordination by integrating the international green port evaluation framework (EcoPorts/GPAS) with China's "Green Port Grade Evaluation Guidelines" (JTST105-4-2020), and proposes a three-in-one port transformation path of "standardized system - policy coordination - digital twin". To achieve the above goals, a three-stage DEA model is adopted to eliminate environmental interference factors such as regional development level differences, combined with a non-radial directional distance function to measure port carbon emission efficiency, and blockchain technology is introduced to achieve immutable traceability of environmental data throughout the entire chain. Empirical analysis based on Shanghai Port, Piraeus Port, and Djibouti Port from 2015 to 2024 shows that after the implementation of the standardized system, the comprehensive efficiency of ports along the route has increased by 15% to 30%, and carbon emission intensity has decreased by more than 20%. Among them, digital twin technology has reduced Shanghai Port's ineffective carbon emissions by 14%, and blockchain smart contracts have achieved an automatic execution rate of environmental compensation of 92% in Djibouti Port. The research confirms that this system has significantly improved the scale efficiency of ports in developing countries (such as Djibouti Port's efficiency value increasing from 0.68 to 0.83), and established a standard mutual recognition mechanism for cross-border green port alliances. The research results provide a solution that is both academically rigorous and operationally feasible for the construction of a low-carbon corridor along the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", and have strategic support value for the realization of the carbon reduction goals of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).