Asia/Pacific News
China Considers Establishing ECA, Says Pollution Problems From Shipping More Evident
Beijing's Ministry of Environmental Protection Monday said it will seek public feedback on proposed legislation that could regulate emissions from marine traffic in China, Reuters reports.
"Environmental pollution problems caused by shipping are becoming more evident," said Xiong Yuehui, a ministry official.
The regulations would take the form of an Emissions Control Area (ECA) established along China's 14,500 kilometre coastline and include new standards for marine fuel quality and usage.
Yuehui noted in a statement that China had 172,600 vessels at the end of 2013 and that the shipping sector accounted for 8.4 percent of the nation's sulfur dioxide emissions as well as 11.3 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions that year.
Asia has been largely left untouched by environmental regulations for ships, with the upcoming July 1, 2015 at berth low-sulfur regulation in Hong Kong marking the first port in the region to take such action.
Beijing has previously promised tax cuts to ships that cause less pollution, but Yuehui is understood to be the first government official to openly discuss the possibility of an ECA being established.
As seven of the top ten busiest container ports are in China, which now also has over 70 percent of the global seaborne iron ore trade and a substantial portion of seaborne oil trades, an Chinese ECA would have far reaching implications for vessel operators.
Earlier this week Hong Kong's under-secretary for the environment Christine Loh said China's increasing interest in improving the country's air quality meant a potential Pearl River Delta (PRD) ECA has a high chance of success.
