Response to News: Greenland Shipping Firm Royal Arctic Line to End Heavy Fuel Oil Use

Malik Arctica, Royal Arctic Line, Copyright Kåre Press-Kristensen

“By choosing to use cleaner fuels and getting rid of heavy fuel oil ahead of schedule, Royal Arctic Line isn’t just making good business sense, it is ensuring that it can never spill heavy fuel oil in the Arctic, and also cutting black carbon emissions, a super pollutant that has disproportionate impact on the Arctic and contributes to the melting of sea ice and glaciers”, said Prior.

Arctic Council Misses Opportunity to Cut Climate Warming Super Pollutants

Infographic: Arctic Shipping at the Nexus of the Triple Planetary Crisis

Responding to the publication of the Arctic Council’s Romssa-Tromsø Statement, published on May 12th, Dr Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance said:

“The Romssa-Tromsø Statement issued by the Arctic Council is a missed opportunity to acknowledge the impact that global climate heating is having on the Arctic, which is warming four times faster than anywhere else on earth, the consequences that the Arctic climate crisis is having for the rest of the planet, and on reducing the impact on the region from short-lived climate super pollutants like black carbon and methane”.

Atlantic Shipping Emissions Cut Agreed, But IMO Scrubber Ban Delayed

Why Emission Control Areas Are the Best Tool for Tackling Air Pollution from Ships at Sea Page 2 crop

As a meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 83) closes today, the Clean Arctic Alliance welcomes member states’ approval of a proposal for a new North-East Atlantic emission control area, scheduled to enter into force in 2027, which will lower emissions from ship operating in the region, including in the Arctic.

Why the IMO should ban the ‘false choice’ of scrubbers

Infographic: Why we need to ban scrubbers on ships

Scrubbers, or exhaust gas cleaning systems, are an end-of-pipe equipment compliance mechanism employed to remove harmful pollutants and particulate matter from exhaust emissions. However, in a sleight-of-hand, pollutants are then dumped into the ocean, transferring the problem to the marine environment, allowing vessels to continue burning fuels like HSFOs.

How IMO Can Take Arctic Action: Cutting Atlantic Shipping Emissions and Banishing Scrubbers

Why Emission Control Areas Are the Best Tool for Tackling Air Pollution from Ships at Sea Page 1 crop

Clean Arctic Alliance calls on IMO member states to support a proposal for a new Northeast Atlantic emission control area to enter into force in 2027. The alliance is also calling on governments to support a proposal for a resolution calling on shipping operators to avoid using scrubbers and end release of scrubber discharge wastes in marine protected areas, habitats important for endangered wildlife, and other ecologically sensitive areas such as the Arctic.