London: Match 22-26, 2021; What can we expect at the 8th Session of the IMO’s Pollution Prevention and Response Sub-Committee (PPR), with regard to the impacts of shipping in the Arctic.
Black Carbon
What’s on the Agenda?
Black Carbon will be on the agenda at PPR 8, IMO Member States have the chance to take rapid and effective action to cut the emissions of black carbon in the Arctic. At PPR 8, IMO Members can, and must, agree to put in place regulations that ensure the shipping industry operating in or near the Arctic switches to distillate fuels, such as diesel or marine gas oil, and mandate that vessels use particulate filters, or move to other cleaner energy sources or means of propulsion. In the longer term, work to develop a global black carbon emission standard for shipping must be timetabled.
UN Shipping Agency Slammed for Fiddling While Arctic Melts
As this week’s virtual meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s Pollution Prevention and Response Sub-Committee (IMO, PPR 8) closes today, non-governmental organisations slammed the IMO proposal to develop weak non-binding “goal-based guidelines” instead of taking immediate and effective action to immediately reduce climate-warming emissions of black carbon from ships using heavy fuel oil in the Arctic.“The Clean Arctic Alliance is completely shocked and bitterly disappointed by the decisions taken by IMO Member States during PPR 8, which will leave the IMO fiddling around with ineffective voluntary action, while the Arctic meltdown continues”, said Dr Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance. “Having completely buried their heads in the sand, the IMO and its Member States now need to watch out for rising waters.” Continue reading…
Open Letter: International NGOs Urge Global Shipping Chief to Arrest Arctic Meltdown
International NGOs have sent an urgent letter to International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General, Mr Kitak Lim, calling on him to take action to address international shipping’s climate impact, ahead of Friday’s crucial decision on IMO measures on black carbon emissions in the Arctic.“Now is the moment for decisive action by the IMO to ensure that black carbon emissions from shipping do not contribute any further to an Arctic meltdown. Now is NOT the moment for “goal-based” measures, guidelines or voluntary action”, reads the letter, titled Last ditch battle at the IMO to save the summer sea ice!, and signed by Dr Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, a coalition of 21 international non-governmental organisations. Continue reading…
Press release: NGOs Urge Shipping Body To Halve Arctic Black Carbon Impacts By Switching Fuels
“This week the IMO has the opportunity put in place rapid and effective regulations to protect the Arctic and the global climate from the warming impacts of black carbon emissions, by obliging vessels operating in the Arctic to switch to cleaner shipping fuels”, said Dr Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, an international coalition of 21 non-profit organisations. Continue reading…
Webinar Video: Switching Fuel – How to Cut Black Carbon Emissions from Arctic Shipping
Arctic sea ice, glaciers, permafrost and the Greenland ice sheet are all decreasing rapidly due to global heating, leading to global impacts such as sea-level rise and extreme weather patterns.
Against the background of the unfolding Arctic climate crisis, the Clean Arctic Alliance invites you to join an online event to explore how Arctic shipping can help alleviate the changes occurring in the Arctic, and to pose this question: Can a switch to alternative, cleaner fuels contribute to reducing black carbon emissions from Arctic shipping? Watch this webinar to find out more.
How the IMO and Shipping Industry Can Halve Climate Warming Black Carbon in the Arctic
Climate change is having a more rapid impact in the Arctic than anywhere else right now – the recent cold weather that blanketed North America and Europe, and caused chaos in places like Texas, has been linked to the consequences of a warming Arctic. What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic – changes taking place in the north will have repercussions further south. Continue reading…
Relevant Papers Submitted to PPR
A series of papers submitted to PPR8 on the subject of “The Reduction on the Arctic of Emissions of Black Carbon from International Shipping” Continue reading…