Baltic Rim Economies 5/2021
Special issue on maritime sector
Published on the 8th of December 2021
Reducing emissions in the maritime sector will bring challenges and opportunities for Finland
“Finland’s northern location, the Russian border and 1100 kilometers of shoreline on the Baltic Sea make us, in practice, an island nation within the European Union. Functioning maritime transport is vital for Finland’s economy and competitiveness, since 90 % of our exports and 80 % of imports are transported by sea. At the same time, currently around 98% of the fuels used in vessels are fossil fuels, which underscores the necessity of a green transformation in the sector.”
Elsi Katainen,
Member of European Parliament (the Centre Party of Finland, Renew Europe),
Renew Europe’s negotiator of FuelEU Maritime regulation in the Committee on Transport and Tourism
Emission free propulsion for ships
“The global shipping sector contributes to a large part of the transport work, but it also contributes to the total CO2 emissions by almost 3 %. With the existing plans for decarbonisation only around 20 % of the shipping will be fossil free in 2050 and increased future transport may even lead to an increase in emissions. There are also several other ship emissions to air that influences both human health and the environment and the Baltic Sea is also designated as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area, PSSA, by the IMO as well as being one of the “special areas” in the MARPOL convention, emission control areas, ECA.”
Karin Andersson,
Professor,
Maritime Environmental Sciences, Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology,
Gothenburg, Sweden
Focus and courage are needed for saving the Sea
“In 2007 the countries belonging to the Baltic Sea Marine Protection Commission HELCOM agreed to return the Sea in good ecological status by 2021. Despite good intentions, the launch of the new HELCOM decade in October 2021 had to be started by admitting the failure in reaching the needed nutrient reductions, and the new time limit was set to 2030. It was a pity, as the climate change ridden Baltic Sea is suffocating in high nutrient loads which are also the main threat for its fragile biodiversity.”
Marjukka Porvari,
Director / Clean Baltic Sea projects,
John Nurminen Foundation,
Finland
The European Union supports sustainable and digital maritime processes
“The maritime industry in the Baltic Sea Region has experienced reforms in recent years. For example, digital development has taken real leaps forward and various parties are working together to develop operations and processes that are more sustainable for the business and the environment. Regulation has played a significant role in this development. New regulations and emission targets, set by the IMO and the EU, both demand and encourage organisations towards more environmentally-friendly maritime operations. At the same time, more and more national and EU funding programmes are supporting R&D projects with environmental targets without disregarding how to boost the regional economy.”
Elisa Aro,
Research Manager,
Pan-European Institute, University of Turku,
Finland