Minister of Transport Merja Kyllönen regards supporting environmental technologies as a key approach in adapting to sulphur regulations. The means of adaptation and their costs will be a major topic in the government budget session. - Supporting environmental technology could solve three challenges arising from sulphur regulations at once. Investment support targeting environmental technology would improve the level of environmental protection in shipping, promote the development of environmental technology and employment in the field, and help the shipping industry to adapt to sulphur regulations, says Minister of Transport Merja Kyllönen. In practice, investment support could be targeted at building environmentally friendly vessels and retrofitting exhaust gas cleaning systems, in particular so-called wet scrubbers, on existing vessels. - Finland already is at the forefront of environmental technologies, and we should seize the new opportunities presenting themselves in the market, plans Minister Kyllönen. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has brought a proposal on supporting environmental investments to the government budget session. Minister Kyllönen considers it vital that the session can agree upon an adequate sum of money to achieve a genuine impact on adaptation. Minister Kyllönen also finds it crucial that we continue to look at other means of adaptation in our search for a solution. - The use of liquid natural gas (LNG) and biofuels as marine fuels are future alternatives that should be considered. Their wide-scale introduction will take years, however, and what we need now is rapid action. My Ministry is currently leading an investigation of future energy forms for transport, including various options for shipping. Further information:Ms Sarianne Hartonen, Special Adviser, tel. +358 295 34 2325
