Asia/Pacific News
Properly Enforced Environmental Regulations are a Competitive Advantage: WWL
While there has been some suggestion that nations who enforce tighter environmental regulations for shipping may see vessels diverting away to where the rules are not as strict, Anna Larsson, Global Head of Sustainability at Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), says this does not have to be the case.
"Environmental regulations, properly enforced to ensure a level playing field, are a competitive advantage and not a liability for a country," she said an environmental seminar hosted last month by WWL in Beijing, China.
The event highlighted both WWL and the Chinese government's efforts to reduce such emissions from ships at port.
As previously reported by Ship & Bunker, earlier this year China became the latest country to impose new sulfur standards, while WWL last month launched a new policy that requires all of its vessels to use bunkers with a less than 0.1 percent sulfur content, or an equivalent method of compliance, while at berth in any port around the world.
"Beijing was a natural venue for the event as China, home to seven of the world's 10 largest ports, announced a domestic sulfur policy in 2015, with Shanghai as the first port to introduce a 0.5 percent sulfur limit on April 1 this year," said WWL.
The event is said to have been attended by officials from the Chinese government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as trade and industry associations.
"Sulfur emissions are a proven threat to health and the environment, yet most of the busiest ports on the planet are not within a SECA today, and there is a need for leadership from both governments and industry to improve air quality for populations in and around ports," said WWL.
China, through its new ECA regulations, has become a leader in Asia in terms of efforts to reduce air pollution from ships, said Finamore, adding that companies such as WWL have also been working to improve air quality through voluntary clean fuel policies.
For the benefit of China's own enforcement programme, Finamore is said to have highlighted a number of lessons learned from both U.S. and EU ECA enforcement programmes, noting that the NRDC is willing to support efforts by government and businesses intended to reduce shipping emissions in China and elsewhere.
"This seminar has shown the importance of partnerships across the public and private sectors and recognised the progress we can achieve through joint leadership," Larsson concluded.
In April, local bunker traders welcomed clarification from Shanghai's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) on the implementation and enforcement of the Yangtze River Delta's new ECA regulations in Shanghai.
