What happened at The IMO Arctic Summit: PPR7?

London: Feb 17-21 2020; The International Maritime Organization gathered to address protection of the Arctic from the impacts of shipping. Here's what happened:

Heavy Fuel Oil:

IMO Regulation that starts to restrict the use and carriage of HFO as fuel on ships operating in Arctic waters will begin to take effect from 1 July 2024 - with the ban only taking place in 2029.
Application to vessels with double-hulls or protected fuel tanks will be delayed until 1 July 2029
Arctic countries (with a coastline which borders on Arctic waters) may waive the ban for ships flying their flag while operating in their waters and taking into account mitigation measure guidelines (still to be finalised) until 1 July 2029
Waivers should be reported
A Correspondence Group will work between now and PPR 8 to finalise the mitigation measure guidelines

Black Carbon

Breaking News

Arctic Heavy Fuel Oil Ban Inches Forward, but loopholes denounced as “outrageous”

Friday February 21, 2020: NGOs and Indigenous groups today cautiously acknowledged progress by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its Member States in agreeing on a draft regulation on heavy fuel oil (HFO) use and carriage in the Arctic, but denounced the inclusion of loopholes in the text that mean the ban will not come into effect until 2029, leaving the Arctic exposed to the growing threat of HFO spills for close to another decade.

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Inuit orgs welcome Canada’s support of heavy fuel oil ban in Arctic waters

Wednesday February 19, 2020: Canada’s support of an international ban of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in Arctic waters is an important step to safeguard the long-term future of indigenous communities in the North, two Inuit organizations say.

“Transport Canada’s recent announcement to support an HFO ban in the Arctic demonstrates vision and leadership and is very encouraging,” the Canadian chapter of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) said in a joint news release on Tuesday.

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Clean Arctic Alliance Response to Canada’s Backing of Heavy Fuel Oil Ban

London, Tuesday February 18, 2020:- Responding to today’s press release from the Government of Canada announcing that “the Government of Canada’s support for a ban on heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters”, Clean Arctic Alliance Lead Advisor Dr Sian Prior said: “The Clean Arctic Alliance welcomes Canada’s support for a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters, however we believe the International Maritime Organization must not entertain any arguments calling for a delay or exemptions in the implementation of an Arctic ban on HFO”. Continue reading…

Will IMO Arctic Summit Act to Protect Arctic from Shipping Spills and Emissions?

London 17 February: NGOs this morning called on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to protect the Arctic marine environment from the impacts of international shipping, by agreeing to a new regulation banning the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) as fuel by ships operating in Arctic waters during this week’s “Arctic IMO Summit” in London. Continue reading…

Canada plans to support ban on heavy fuel oil in Arctic shipping

Radio Canada International: Canada will support a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil by ships plying Arctic waters at the upcoming meeting of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, Transport Canada officials announced during a teleconference call Wednesday. Continue reading…

Social: #IMOArcticSummit

#imoarcticsummit

IMO Arctic Summit @ArcticImo·

25 Feb 1232270589114667009

Mia Bennett: Last week’s “deliberations @IMO represented a significant victory not just forcleaner #Arctic, but for efforts to decolonize global governance & global shipping, too. https://scq.io/70iG0ZI @cryopolitics @Mar_Ex #IMOArcticSummit @BeringSeaElders @ICC_Canada

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CleanArcticAlliance @CleanArctic·

25 Feb 1232266097610633219

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IMO Arctic Summit @ArcticImo·

25 Feb 1232237412874641408

The @IMOHQ IMO moves closer to an #Arctic HFO ban — but with some exceptions https://www.arctictoday.com/the-imo-moves-closer-to-an-arctic-hfo-ban-but-with-some-exceptions/?wallit_nosession=1 @arctic_today @kevin_mcgwin #imoarcticsummit @ICC_Canada @NTunngavik @Sian_Prior9

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CleanArcticAlliance @CleanArctic·

25 Feb 1232236626677510144

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EcoHustler @Ecohustler·

24 Feb 1231911156673056769

Last week’s shipping action went out on – @AJEnglish on #CountingtheCost – at 16.33 mins.

A look at the #shipping industry as an unseen polluter.

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/

@IMOHQ @IMOclimate @AJENews @HFOFreeArctic
#shipping #ClimateEmergency #IMOarcticsummit #stopdirtyfuels

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IMO Arctic Summit @ArcticImo·

24 Feb 1231890390946664453

“@IMOHQ made progress on controlling #Arctic heavy fuel oil use & carriage as fuel, it’s outrageous Member States are prepared to accept HFO spill threats til 2029 to communities, env & wildlife” @Sian_Prior9 #imoarcticsummit
https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/imo-moves-forward-ban-arctic-hfo-exempts-some-vessels-until-2029 @malte_humpert @HighNorthNews

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IMO Arctic Summit News

Arctic Summit News: A Siberian Yup’ik Inuit’s perspective:

February 19, 2020

ECO came across this fascinating article "For Arctic Indigenous People, is Foresight 2020?", and will like to share a few powerful quotes from a Siberian Yup’ik Inuit's perspective:

For Arctic Indigenous people, is Foresight 2020?

February 18, 2020

Verner Wilson, Senior Oceans Campaigner at Friends of the Earth US, writes that 2020 must be a year of action, and if we fail to meet the challenge of the climate crisis, our inaction will have long-lasting impacts on the Arctic, its indigenous peoples, and the overall wellbeing of Earth’s climate.

Protest ouside IMO – photo by Eoghan McDonaugh

Arctic Summit News 2: How Long? New marine fuels & Arctic Climate Crime Scene

February 18, 2020

Today ECO reports on the devastating scenes of dead arctic animals and ecosystem destruction outside the IMO Arctic Summit. What are the reasons for these devastating crimes in the region? Is it black carbon emissions accelerating ice loss?

Video

Survival Guide:

Pacific Environment’s Guide to IMO is a resource for anyone looking to get a crash course in what the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is and how it operates. In the guide, you will find descriptions of committees and sub-committees, section by section summaries of key IMO instruments (like the Polar Code), a list of every participating non-governmental organization with links to their websites, a glossary of common acronyms and terms, and much more. Download here.