EMEA News
France Seeks Mediterranean ECA, Say Sources
France, at a European Council meeting earlier this month, called for the creation of an Emission Control Area (ECA) in the Mediterranean Sea, sources have told Splash 24/7 reports.
Government officials are said to have been in discussion with environmental NGOs since the European Council meeting in order to establish further details for an ECA in the Mediterranean Sea.
In December, Ship & Bunker reported that BirdLife Malta, along with Germany's Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) and other Mediterranean environmental NGO partners, had launched an international project aimed at increasing awareness of air pollution generated by cruise ships to support the declaration of a Mediterranean Sea sulfur ECA.
Last May, a report, commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Deltalinqs, found that a Mediterranean sulfur ECA would be a "quick win" to improve air pollution, while having almost zero impact in terms of ports' market share.
