EMEA News
Renewed Calls for Arctic Black Carbon Regulations Ahead of IMO PPR Meeting
Environmental groups have renewed calls for regulation of black carbon emissions in the Arctic ahead of an IMO regulatory meeting in London.
Members of the International Maritime Organization are convening this week at the organisation's London headquarters for the 12th session of the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 12).
PPR deals with all matters relating to pollution prevention and response which fall within the IMO's remit.
One of the items of the agenda of this session is to discuss the impact of black carbon emissions from shipping in the Arctic.
Black carbon, an emission produced from incomplete fossil fuel combustion, accelerates ice melt when it settles on snow and ice, posing a risk to the ecosystem of the Arctic.
NGO the Clean Arctic Alliance has urged IMO members to come up with a resolution which mandates use of fuels with lower black carbon emissions in the Arctic, as well seeking a ban on scrubber washwater discharge waters in coastal, protected and sensitive areas.
"We call on IMO Member States to urgently agree to the development of a black carbon regulation in MARPOL Annex VI which requires that only polar fuels can be used in and near to the Arctic, and to a resolution to prevent ocean pollution in protected and sensitive seas," Dr Sian Prior, lead advisor to Clean Artic Alliance, said in an emailed statement on Monday.
Other climate groups like Pacific Environment and WWF are also calling for a shift in the grades of fuel allowed to be used in the Arctic.
In a joint proposal to the PPR, climate groups are calling for a switch to more expensive distillate marine fuels, such as DMA and DMZ, in the Arctic. They argue that replacing heavy residual fuels like HSFO is crucial to protecting the region's ecosystem.
"The IMO must agree that only distillate-grade DMA marine fuels or other fuels which result in similar or even lower levels of black carbon emissions will replace all residual use, and are therefore suitable for operating in and near the Arctic," Bill Hemmings, black carbon advisor to Clean Arctic Alliance, said.
