Fragile future

Anne Ståhl Mousa warns that climate change will affect fragile regions such as the Baltic Sea unless concerted action is taken now

Experts recently converged on the Swedish city of Malmö to discuss how climate change might impact on maritime activities. The Baltic development forum hosted the three-day summit from 2-4 June as a part of the World Maritime University’s silver jubilee celebration. The event attracted experts from around the globe to discuss how climate change might affect various marine activities and evaluate the measures that can, and have been, put in place to respond to the phenomenon.

This was the first major international event to address the specific consequences of climate change on wide-ranging operational aspects of maritime and coastal activities. The aim was not only to define the current state of knowledge and experience, but to propose measures to ensure the sustainability of maritime industries. The audience, comprising representatives from governmental bodies, universities and industry also directed their attention to the practical aspects on the shipping and port sectors, including fisheries. These sectors are not only of significant socio-economic relevance, but are also associated with the intensive use of marine and coastal environments. Several keynote speakers addressed the need for adaptive strategies to meet future challenges and opportunities.

So, what was the outcome of the summit? Well, above all, it offered an invaluable opportunity to address the issue of how maritime industries might best cope with, adapt to and help minimise future global and regional changes and challenges arising from climate change. The strength of such events is the unique mix of representatives, from large companies, major cities, institutional investors and business associations. If, as is hoped, it results in a joint understanding of the problem, there is a good chance that this knowledge will actually lead to real action being taken. Why is this a good thing? As seen from my position with the Baltic Sea commission (BSC) - the geographical commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) - it is absolutely crucial that gatherings like this, bringing so much theoretical and practical knowledge together, are turned into practice.

The commission, set up to work for a sustainable society with the aim of promoting exchanges and cooperation between the coastal zones and islands of the Baltic Sea, including non-EU country regions, had a keen interest in the forum. Climate change doesn’t give us much time for talk and this is particularly true for the Baltic Sea and the Baltic Sea area. It is in our northern regions that the changes are first visible and where the impact will be strongest. This, matched with the fact that the Baltic Sea is a very fragile and small sea basin which has seen a dramatic surge in marine activities due to the positive economic development all around the Baltic Sea, make positive action even more urgent.

Still, there is time if everyone’s efforts are pooled together in the same direction. As the Baltic Sea commission stressed in our answer to the green paper on the EU’s maritime policy and to that on climate change, it will be necessary to establish a sustainable solution in the maritime sector, be it ship fuel or most other forms of emissions, international agreements, laws and conventions.

In the Baltic Sea area, we could make great progress, as both the know-how and finance is available. But the rules have to apply to all or it will have a negative impact on the competitive strength on those that are prepared to act now.

I believe that gatherings like the Baltic summit are the very place where this common understanding can be achieved. We at the commission are prepared to continue this good work and will be hosting discussions on the environmental aspects of the Baltic Sea strategy later this autumn.