In a serious blow to the Arctic and the fight to stop global heating, the UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO), responsible for regulating international shipping, has firmly rejected the pleas of all of those crying out for ambitious climate action.
The Arctic Council Ministerial provides a unique opportunity for foreign ministers to demonstrate global leadership by committing to rapid, Arctic-wide elimination of heavy fuel oil, and to immediate reduction in black carbon emissions from shipping. These commitments can be enshrined in the 2021 Reykjavik Declaration, to be issued at the conclusion of the meeting.
The IMO is on the cusp of missing a crucial opportunity to protect the Arctic – it has a last chance this June when the Arctic HFO ban is due to be adopted. IMO member states – particularly the Arctic nations – must stand up for the Arctic and its people and its wildlife by taking action to strengthen the Arctic HFO ban ahead of its adoption, and bring it into effect sooner than 2029.
The Clean Arctic Alliance believes that by mandating a switch of fuels, the IMO – and the shipping sector could win an easy victory by achieving a major cut of black carbon emissions in the Arctic. It would also be a win for the global climate, for the Arctic and the people who depend on its ecosystem for their livelihoods.
Dr Sian Prior on the problems with the International Maritime Organization’s ban on heavy fuel oil in the Arctic – and how it can be rectified.
Webinar recording: find out what the draft Arctic HFO regulation will mean in practice if adopted as currently drafted, and what it will mean for Arctic environmental protection.
It will be bad news for the Arctic and for Arctic communities if the volume of shipping increases in the coming decade before environmental protections including a ban on the use and carriage of HFO take effect.
‘The anniversary of the Erika HFO spill serves as a stark reminder of the need for urgent action to protect the Arctic from HFO spills, while the recent evidence from fuel oil spills demonstrates that only a few hundred tonnes of HFO could easily lead to an ecological disaster in the Arctic,’ argues Dr Sian Prior
The Clean Arctic Alliance will be at Arctic Circle in Reykjavík, Iceland on October 10-12, 2019. We’re involved in running two events involving the risks of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic – one outside of Arctic Circle, and one session on the program. Read on!
Arctic Shipping: Action possible today, must be taken today Published today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report […]