Ahead of this week’s meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) which will address crucial issues on climate heating emissions from the shipping sector, the Clean Arctic Alliance today called for IMO member states to support a proposal for a new Northeast Atlantic emission control area to enter into force in 2027. The alliance is also calling on governments to support a proposal for a resolution calling on shipping operators to avoid using scrubbers and end release of scrubber discharge wastes in marine protected areas, habitats important for endangered wildlife, and other ecologically sensitive areas such as the Arctic.
Emission Control Areas:
“Coming just days after the record lowest maximum Arctic sea ice extent maximum in the 47-year satellite record, creation of the Northeast 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 of 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%, particulate matter by 64%, and have a co-benefit of reducing the black carbon emissions which have a detrimental impact on Arctic snow and ice. During MEPC 83, member states must approve the proposal to create the Northeast Atlantic emission control area.”
Emission Control Areas (ECAs) are designed to reduce atmospheric pollutants from ships by requiring more stringent controls on fuels and engines while operating in the area.
“While the development of the concept of polar fuels – fuels which are suitable for Arctic use because they cause lower black carbon emissions – is not directly on the agenda at MEPC 83, the approval of both the creation of a Northeast Atlantic emission control area, and a resolution to avoid using scrubbers in specific areas including the Arctic is critical. In addition, 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 – which we call soot – ejected by ship engines into their stacks and then into the atmosphere. This soot is a short-lived climate pollutant, aka super 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. 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. Black carbon has been on the IMO’s agenda for more than a decade, but it has yet to take meaningful action.
Scrubbers:
In addition to a 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, Canada has submitted a paper (MEPC 83/5/1) which calls into question the efficacy of scrubbers because of the high emissions of particulate matter (PM) or which black carbon is a component.
“During MEPC 83, governments must adopt a proposal calling for a resolution urging member states and ship operators to avoid using scrubbers in IMO-designated particularly sensitive sea areas (PSSAs), special areas, emission control areas, national and international designated protected areas, critical and important habitats for endangered and threatened species and highly vulnerable areas such as the Arctic”, said Eelco Leemans, Clean Arctic Alliance Technical Advisor. “Once they have adopted this resolution, the task of IMO members is to then set course for PPR 13 which is to take place in early 2026, where they must evaluate the efficacy of scrubbers at reducing particulate matter emissions compared to low sulphur fuel and in consideration of the goals of the MARPOL Convention and Regulation 14 and commit to mandatory regulation of 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.
Shipping at the intersection of climate, biodiversity and pollution:
‘Our planet is on life support, with shipping both a contributor to its illness and part of the medication needed to get it out of the intensive care unit”, said Andrew Dumbrille, North American Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance. “There is a proposal on the table at MEPC 83 which, if adopted, would begin the road to recovery.”
“What’s known as the shipping nexus approach looks at how solutions with co-benefits could be prioritized to respond to the real dangers of the triple planetary crisis we face today”, continued Dumbrille. “Measures such as slowing ships down which will lead to a reduction in whale strikes, underwater noise and GHG emissions; establishing Emission Control Areas which would limit air pollutants and improve human health and in some regions like the Arctic preserve ice habitat; ruling out methane-based fuels such as LNG, which has a life cycle impact that pollutes the air, contaminates water tables, impacts rights holders, and poses safety risks; and improving energy efficiency which saves money, reduces GHGs, and can limit the spread of invasive species.”
“This week IMO members must establish an ad hoc working group to look at these impacts, solutions and co-benefits, and set a course on the shipping nexus approach which will help shipping help the planet”, Dumbrille concluded.
Source: Clean Arctic Alliance
