While efficient ports are vital to the economic development of a large surrounding area, the related ship traffic, the handling of the goods in the ports and the hinterland distribution can cause a number of negative environmental impacts. In 2010, the OECD published the book Globalisation, Transport and the Environment, which highlighted a number of negative environmental impacts related to freight transport by different modes of transport. This book follows-up as concerns the environmental impacts of international maritime transport, and looks more in detail at the impacts stemming from near-port shipping activities, the handling of the goods in the ports and from the distribution of the goods to the surrounding regions. It is based on a number of case studies that were carried out for OECD’s Working Group on Transport. This working group agreed to declassify the present synthesis report at its meeting in October 2010. The book provides examples of the environmental problems related to port activities (such as air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases, water pollution, noise, spread of invasive species, etc.) and highlights a number of different policy instruments that can be used to limit the negative impacts. As such, the book will allow policy makers in this area to learn from experiences of colleagues in a range of other countries