Environmental NGOs the Bellona Foundation, Environmental Investigation Agency, Friends of the Earth (US), Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU), Pacific Environment, Seas At Risk, Transport & Environment, and WWF have shamed the EU for its failure to push for a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) by ships operating in Arctic waters.
Prior to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 69th session held last week (18-22 April), there were a number of renewed calls for a ban on the use of HFO in the Arctic.
Currently a similar ban exists in the Antarctic but the global environmental groups have focused their efforts on pushing for the same implementation in the Arctic to reduce pollution and help prevent the acceleration of global warming and oil spill incidents.
Bill Hemmings, Shipping Director at Transport & Environment, commented: “Following the move in the Antarctic, a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil by ships in the sensitive Arctic polar region would go a significant way to tackling environmental pollution there. Europe must join international efforts to ensure that the use of this, the dirtiest of fuels, is banned from the region.”
Despite no ban being set, Transport & Environment welcomed the European Commission’s focus on climate mitigation and adaptation strategies and on protecting the environment in its new Arctic strategy.
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