As a meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) closes today, the Clean Arctic Alliance welcomes member states’ approval of a proposal for a new North-East Atlantic emission control area, scheduled to enter into force in 2027, which will lower emissions from ship operating in the region, including in the Arctic. Emission Control Areas (ECAs) are designed to reduce atmospheric pollutants from ships by requiring more stringent controls on fuels and engines.
Disappointingly, likely MEPC 83 outcomes related to reducing GHG emissions from shipping could have devastating consequences for the world’s most vulnerable communities, for the Arctic, and the planet. Early indications are that agreements on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a carbon intensity indicator, will lead to business as usual, and lack ambition to support a just and equitable transition.
The Alliance is also disappointed that during MEPC 83, which focussed on addressing climate heating emissions from the shipping sector, IMO member states have imposed a further delay on regulatory measures to address the use of scrubbers in the Arctic. While the delay is frustrating, the Alliance recognises that the proposal for a resolution calling on shipping operators to avoid using scrubbers in marine protected areas, habitats important for endangered wildlife, and other ecologically sensitive areas such as the Arctic, will instead be considered during next year’s PPR13.
“Coming just days after the record lowest maximum Arctic sea ice extent maximum in the 47-year satellite record, creation of the North-East Atlantic emission control area will significantly reduce ships’ emissions, improve air quality, and contribute to improving public health and environmental protection in the north-east Atlantic region, including the Arctic waters around Greenland and Iceland”, said Dr Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance.
“By restricting the use of the most polluting shipping fuels, this emission control area would see SOx emissions cut by up to 82% and particulate matter by 64%, which will avoid thousands of premature deaths by 2050, and have a co-benefit of reducing the black carbon emissions which have a detrimental impact on Arctic snow and ice”, said Lola Berna, Project Manager at ECODES.
“We welcome Iceland stepping up its engagement for the conservation of the North-East Atlantic”, said Árni Finnsson, Board Chair at the Iceland Nature Conservation Association. “We trust the Icelandic government will take further action immediately to ban heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, and banning black carbon emissions from ships within its 12-mile territorial waters.”
“We welcome how the international community represented at the IMO came together to create the North-East Atlantic Emission Control Area, which will reduce emissions from shipping in the Arctic to the benefit of the health of local populations and wildlife, including Greenland, which has a fragile and unique ecosystem”, said Kåre Press-Kristensen, Senior Advisor to Green Global Future. “However, this should only be seen as the first step since much more action is required if our children and grandchildren are to experience and benefit from the fantastic culture and nature of the Arctic”.
“While the development of the concept of polar fuels – fuels which are suitable for Arctic use because they cause lower black carbon emissions – was not directly on the agenda at MEPC 83, the approval of both the creation of a Northeast Atlantic emission control was critical. With delays to the scrubber ban, IMO member states must set the stage for development of a concrete proposal for next year’s PPR 13 that will reduce black carbon emissions from ships operating in and near the Arctic”, added Prior.
Black carbon is “shipping’s second largest cause of global warming” after carbon dioxide and makes up around one-fifth of international shipping’s already considerable climate impact. Black carbon is a solid particulate matter – soot – ejected by ship engines into their stacks and then into the atmosphere. This soot is a short-lived climate pollutant produced by the incomplete burning of fossil fuels in the engine combustion chambers, and has a climate warming impact more than three thousand times that of CO2 over a 20 year period.
Black carbon is widely recognised to be a “super pollutant” because of the outsize impact it has on both human health and on the climate. In its recent 6th Assessment Report, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) doubled the estimate of the warming potential of black carbon on snow and ice due to a better understanding of its impact. Black carbon, along with other super pollutants – methane and ozone, are responsible for nearly half of global temperature increases to date and reducing emissions of ‘super pollutants’ would slam emergency brake on global warming. In its latest report, the Clean Air Fund recommends cutting black carbon emissions from shipping as quickly as possible and recognises cuts in emissions can unlock near-immediate climate gains.
Black carbon has been on the IMO’s agenda for more than a decade, but it has yet to take meaningful action. Addressing the impact of black carbon on the Arctic is one of the longest, unresolved issues running at the IMO and must be dealt with without any further delay. The Clean Arctic Alliance is urging Member States to collaborate in the development of a concrete proposal, for consideration by PPR 13 in early 2026.
Scrubbers
Scrubbers, also known as exhaust gas cleaning systems, are an end-of-pipe equipment compliance mechanism employed on ships to remove harmful pollutants and particulate matter from exhaust emissions. However, the pollutants are then invariably dumped into the ocean, transferring the problem from the atmosphere to the marine environment.
During MEPC 83, governments did not adopt the the proposal from Clean Arctic Alliance members for a resolution to prohibit the use of scrubbers in protected areas and ecologically sensitive areas such as the Arctic, but forwarded it to the IMO’s Pollution Prevention and Response subcommittee (PPR 13, early 2026) for consideration.
“We knew that scrubbers cause marine pollution, but now a Canadian paper (MEPC 83/5/1) makes clear that air pollution is not solved by scrubbers, and calls into question their efficacy”, said Eelco Leemans, Clean Arctic Alliance Technical Advisor. “It’s therefore disappointing that during MEPC 83, despite widespread support, governments delayed consideration of a proposal calling for a resolution urging member states and ship operators to avoid using scrubbers in highly vulnerable areas such as the Arctic. At next February’s PPR 13 meeting, the IMO must evaluate the efficacy of scrubbers for reducing particulate matter emissions compared to low sulphur fuels. and commit to mandatory regulation of scrubbers.”
Climate and Biodiversity Nexus
“This week’s successful agreement of a new Emission Control Area (ECAs) in the North-East Atlantic is a good example of how solutions with co-benefits can contribute to tackling the triple planetary crisis of pollution, heating and biodiversity loss”, said Andrew Dumbrille, North American Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance. “As well as reducing the impact of air pollutants on community health, ECAs reduce black carbon emissions responsible for ice and snow melt, and local and global heating, as well as safeguarding community food security. Taking a shipping nexus approach and considering the intersection of multiple threats and solutions will allow the marine sector to respond to the urgency of the global challenges we face.”
Source: Clean Arctic Alliance
