At this week’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting held at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the world’s biggest emission control area (ECA) has been agreed upon.
The new Northeast Atlantic ECA, due by 2027, stretches along coastlines from Portugal to Greenland (see map below), joining existing nearby ECAs in the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and the Mediterranean.
“Almost all European waters will be emission control areas soon. This harmonised regulation not only benefits people and nature but also facilitates a level playing field for the maritime industry in Europe,” said Sönke Diesener, a shipping expert at Naturschutzbund Deutschland, a German NGO.
“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 northeast Atlantic region, including the Arctic waters around Greenland and Iceland,” said Dr. Sian Prior, lead advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance.
Attention now turns to what the final text coming out of MEPC this evening will be.