The declaration: "Cleaner Cruises through More Shore Power: Nordic Leadership in Making the Nordic and Greater Baltic Sea Area Sustainable Cruise Destinations" was adopted on October 28th 2020.

The Nordic Ministers for Climate and the Environment from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland:

- Recognize a growing awareness among our citizens of air and noise pollution from cruise ships in ports.

- Acknowledge that technological solutions such as shore power can reduce local air pollution from cruise ships in ports.

- Urge that by 2030 shore power becomes available in the larger main cruise ports most frequently visited by cruise ships in the Nordic and Greater Baltic Sea Area

- Urge Nordic leadership in making the Nordic and Greater Baltic Sea Area the world’s most sustainable cruise destination, in line with the 2030 Vision from Prime Ministers on ‘making the Nordic region the most sustainable and integrated region in the world’, and the Nordic Sustainable Cities program.

- Stress that Nordic leadership is exercised jointly by actions from governments, cities, harbours and cruise lines.

- Welcome the ongoing initiative of protecting the marine environment by a wider use of shore power for ferries and cruise ships across the Nordic and Greater Baltic Sea Area, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in line with the EU Alternative Fuels directive.

- Emphasize that common Nordic policies to promote investments in shore power can contribute to a green recovery and job creation, in line with the new growth strategy of the European Green Deal, turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities.

- Welcome common approaches and exchanges of best practices between ports.

- Welcome the efforts by cruise lines to improve cruise ship connectivity to shore power.

- Welcome the use of incentive schemes such as Environmental Ship Index and Environmental Port Index in order to attract more sustainable cruise ships.

- Recognize that further port electrification for cruise ships could incentivize ferries and short sea shipping vessels to electrify their power generation, underlining the importance of electricity infrastructure planning in due time.

- Recognize the need for smaller cruise ports to implement alternative and more flexible technological solutions to address local air pollution from cruise ships in ports.

- Recognize that national and regional actions to accelerate the introduction of sustainable zero carbon fuels for cruise ships are needed.

- Welcome the involvement of countries in the Greater Baltic Sea area in addressing the problem of air pollution from cruise ships at berth.

Nordic Council of Ministers for the Environment and Climate (MR-MK)