The UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) has decided to approvethe establishment of a so-calledemission control area (ECA) in the northernpart of the Atlantic Ocean. 

This means that ships sailing in the ECA area will have to use moresustainable fuel with a maximum sulfurcontent of 0.1%. The proposal isexpected to enter into force in 2027.

The agreement marks “a historic day in the reduction of air pollution fromships”, according to the German environmental NGO Nabu.

“The ECA in the Northeast Atlantic will close the gap between existing ECAsin the North and Baltic Seas and the Mediterranean. Thus, almost allEuropean waters will soon be emission control areas,”

The news has also delighted the organization Green Global Future, whichcalls it “a huge victory”.

“It’s fantastic that we now have the world’s largest ECA,” Kåre Press-Kristensen, advisor to the organization, tells ShippingWatch.

While this week’s IMO negotiations have primarily been about reaching aglobal climate agreement on ship reduction of CO2 emissions by 2025, theadoption of the ECA is significant in itself, according to Press-Kristensen.

“There has been a lot of focus on the greenhouse gas agreement, and ofcourse it would be a shameif such an agreement were to fail, but perhapsthe focus on the big agreement has left room to getother agreementsthrough,” he says.

According to the advisor, it has created a “window of opportunity”.

“I’m excited about the deal and come home a happy man, whatever theoutcome of the negotiations.”

The new ECA, which will stretch from the Atlantic coastline all the way toGreenland, will providemillions of people with cleaner air to breathe.

A study by Nabu and the International Council on Clean Transportation(ICCT) estimates that the ECA zone could prevent between 118 and 176premature deaths in 2030, and between 2,900 and 4,300 deaths overallbetween 2030 and 2050.

Sönke Diesener from Nabu also points out that sulfur emissions havedecreased by 70% since 2014 within the already established environmentalzones.

That’s why he would like to see even more of them established.

“Therefore, it is only consistent to continue with this regulatory framework.The only Europeanwaters not covered so far are the Canary Islands, Azoresand Madeira and the Black Sea. It is notacceptable to leave these peoplewith toxic air pollution,” he says in the press release.

The proposal must now be formally approved at a meeting of the IMO’sMarine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) this fall and is thenexpected to enter into force in 2027.