EMEA News
NGOs Call for ECA Extension in UK Waters
The UK government should extend the Emissions Control Area already in place the eastern and southern English Channel and North Sea areas to include all UK waters.
Non-governmental organisations have made the call in an open letter to the UK government.
According to research cited in the letter, UK waters "including ports, territorial sea, and the remaining non-ECA UK waters, are experiencing heavy shipping traffic and are in the top three most polluted north-Atlantic coastal states".
Extending the ECA would cut pollution and encourage ship operators to make the move to cleaner fuels, the ngos said.
An ECA caps sulphur in bunker fuel to 0.1% and limits emissions from other bunker fuel pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulates.
Among the letter's signatories are Brussels-based Transport & Environment and Nabu.
