Jotun has spent close to a century exploring and disrupting hull performance and is more committed than ever to help the shipping industry reduce its carbon footprint and move towards a cleaner future. Thanks to Jotun’s position as the leader within hull performance and its knowledge based on years with research and innovations, the company has been invited to this year’s COP29 and the panel discussion “Navigating the Future: Bridging Shipping, Biodiversity, and Decarbonization”.

As COP 29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is well underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, Jotun announces their attendance at this year’s conference. In the panel discussion “Navigating the Future: Bridging Shipping, Biodiversity, and Decarbonization” on November 18^th, Dr Christer Øpstad, Global R&D Director Fouling Protection at Jotun, will contribute with insight and valuable perspectives within how marine coatings and hull performance protects biodiversity and is a key to make the shipping industry more sustainable.

“With a strong and continuous focus on R&D, we have enormous amount of knowledge and expertise on how the climate is affecting the biodiversity of our oceans. We believe a clean hull is vital for the shipping industry to be able to cut carbon emissions and protecting the biodiversity. At COP29, we’re looking forward to sharing these insights and discuss how to guide the sector towards more sustainable practices – especially looking into biodiversity and the role this issue is playing in the bigger picture”, said Christer Øpstad.

The panel discussion is initiated by Sustainable Shipping Initiative and will be held at the Ocean Pavilion in the Blue Zone at COP29. This year’s conference is hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan between November 11-22.

“Putting this issue on the agenda at important forums like COP29, is of high importance. We hope to be able to both educate and create awareness on this extremely important topic, and we need regulators and policy makers to set the scene for a cleaner shipping industry”.