A North Atlantic emission control zone for shipping could have significant environmental and public health benefits, according to a new analysis.
The report by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) looks at the possibility of establishing a designated area could help prevent thousands of premature deaths.
The proposed zone would include territorial sea around the Faroe Islands, France, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom and is home to more than 190 million people.
“Despite substantial improvements in air quality due to land-based control measures across the proposed region, the contribution of shipping emissions remains unaddressed,” the report states.
The report estimates between 2,900 and 4,300 premature deaths could be avoided between 2030 and 2050 by introducing stricter requirements for vessels to reduce engine emissions, notably sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5),
It also claims the cumulative economic value of these health benefits could be reach €19 to €29 billion between those dates.
In addition to health benefits, the study argues the zone could play a critical role in protecting the region’s marine biodiversity and cultural sites.
According to the report, the proposed zone encompasses more than 1,500 marine protected areas, 17 important marine mammal habitats, and 148 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
It says reducing ship emissions is essential for protecting these ecosystems.
The new report will help support a submission to the International Maritime Organization’s marine environment protection committee on designating this new emission control area.
ICCT senior researcher and project lead, Liudmila Osipova said there are already several maritime low emission control areas in place, including one in the Baltic and the Mediterranean in an interview.
Osipova added the International Maritime Organization recently approved two more, one around Canada and one around Norway.
She told me the biggest health impacts for the proposed North Atlantic Ocean emission control area would be in countries like U.K, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, because they are already affected by air pollution coming from ships.
She added countries like Greenland, where the indigenous community lives by the shore would also benefit.
Osipova said a North Atlantic control area would also link with the Canadian and Mediterranean areas already in existence for added benefits.
“Establishing this emission control area is an opportunity to significantly reduce harmful emissions and improve public health for those living in coastal communities,” she added.
“Shipping emissions also remains heavily unaddressed as a global issue,” she added.
“Establishing the emission control area would be like a good first step to address this larger issue.”
The chief executive of NatPower Marine, Stefano D.M. Sommadossi said adding new emission control areas in the Atlantic would be a “game changer” for both public health and for the global marine energy transition in an email.
He added the U.K already has emission controla areas in the North Sea and English Channel to cap dangerous ship emissions. While CO2 is killing us in the long term, SOx and NOx are killing us right now.
“The U.K and EU should leverage their position introduce the zone 200 nautical miles around their entire coast, with priority given to electricity as the cleaner and cheaper fuel option,” said Sommadossi.
“In particular, the U.K should be the first mover to position itself as clean maritime trade superhub, completing the coverage of its entire coast with ECA zones.”
And the research director at non-profit Oceana, Tess Geers said reducing shipping emissions is one of the top three ocean-based solutions that can help avert climate catastrophe in an email.
“These emissions contribute significantly to ocean warming, sea level rise, and ocean acidification, which threaten marine life, ecosystems, and coastal communities around the world,” added Geers.
