EMEA News
NABU Issues Another Call for EU Action on Shipping Pollution
German NGO Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) Tuesday issued a further call for the European Union (EU) to take action to regulate pollution from ships.
"While all land-based sources have been gradually regulated in recent years we still face a lack of effective emissions control measures for ships," said Daniel Rieger, Transport Policy Officer at NABU.
The organisation says the EU must take a lead role by designating all its waters as emission control areas (ECAs), regulating ship emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, and particulate matter.
"Such a step would not only lead to a significant uptake of cleaner fuels but also enable the use of particulate filters and nitrogen catalysts, therefore reducing air pollution levels in port cities and along shipping routes significantly," said NABU.
The organisation also stressed a need for EU to address the use of HFO in Arctic waters, supporting an international ban on the use of the fuel in the Arctic shipping by 2020.
Last month, NABU said that, in addition to land-based pollution concerns from shipping, undercover air tests had shown that emissions levels on-board vessels could also be an issue.
