Recently, an Annual Meeting of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) agreed on a Roadmap that included the submission of a proposal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for a Baltic Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) Emission Control Area (ECA).
HELCOM, which consists of the Baltic coastal countries and the EU will submit the Roadmap to the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 70 meeting, which is scheduled for October 2016.
In 2007, HELCOM agreed upon a Baltic Sea Action Plan and has since carried out economic and environmental studies, finalised the submission papers and carried out intensive negotiations on the right timing for a final submission to IMO.
Implementing a Baltic Sea NOx ECA has the potential to reduce around 7 kilotons of NOx per year. This anticipated reduction is significant and corresponds to more than the entire country-wise nitrogen pollution load reduction commitment of several Baltic Sea countries according to the HELCOM Country Allocated Reduction Target (CART) scheme, which was also agreed in 2007 and updated in 2013.
This week, the coastal countries and the HELCOM Secretariat will prepare for a submission to MEPC 70.
The Baltic Sea NOx ECA submission is intended to take place parallel to a similar NOx ECA submission from the North Sea countries.
