BIMCO’s newly elected president, Turkish shipowner Sadan Kaptanoglu, aims to gather as many as possible shipowners to find a way to protect the environment, discussing the 2020 sulphur cap, the 2050 targets on reducing the GHG emissions and plastic debris.
Ms Kaptanoglu is the first female President of BIMCO, and was elected on May 14.
We are entering an important new era. It will start with 2020 and, on the environmental front, we will see a lot of changes.
She highlights that the 2020 sulphur cap issue will be soon forgotten and the challenges of achieving a 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050 will become the industry’s primary focus. She believes that there will be problems because of the scale and complexity of the switch.
In the meantime, she referred to today’s challenging issue; plastic debris that is a problem that remains unsolved and harmful for the environment. Keptanoglu further stated that the industry does not have the image of an environmentally friendly sector, despite being the world’s first to internationally commit to reducing shipping emissions.
Moreover, she added that up to now the shipping industry is making steps for a better world:
- The sector has reduced its CO2 emissions by 30% from 2008;
- Throwing plastics overboard is illegal from 1988;
- The number of oil spills has been dramatically declined since the 1960s.
Overall, she concluded that
Changing our image must be a joint effort for all shipping people.
