Mr Kaupo Läänerand

Deputy Minister for Maritime and Water Affairs at Ministry of Climate, Estonia

Speaker

Kaupo Läänerand is Deputy Minister for Maritime and Water Affairs in the Ministry of Climate in Estonia. Mr Läänerand is maritime expert with long managerial experience in international shipping and the public sector. After having worked abroad in the merchant fleet and offshore sector, he became Head of the Fleet in the Police and Border Guard Board (Coast Guard functions) in Estonia, where he initiated reforms resulting in greater efficiency, more joint operations and increased cooperation at various levels.

As Deputy Minister, he is actively finding solutions to improve Estonia as a maritime nation. This includes creating competitive and sustainable maritime policy, consolidating government owned fleet, protecting maritime environment, increasing the Estonian flag competitiveness and implementing green policy in maritime sectors. Two of the latest initiatives are preparing Ukrainian Maritime Recovery Plan and supporting creation of Estonian Marine Greentech and RetrofitHub.

One of key challenges is also reforming the water management sector in Estonia to be more efficient and sustainable. Climate changes require stronger resilience both in the water management and blue economy sectors, which is one of the strategic aims for Deputy Minister.