The International Maritime Organization (IMO) looks set to debate the creation of a giant new emissions control area (ECA) when the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meets next year.
A new study published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) today claims that up to 4,300 premature deaths can be avoided by the creation of an ECA in the North Atlantic, dubbed AtlECA.
The ICCT has teamed up with a number of NGOs to submit the North Atlantic ECA proposal to the IMO.
The proposed area would be the largest of its kind, stretching from Portugal to Greenland. It covers the sea areas of the Faroe Islands, France, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Examples of successful ECAs can already be found in the North Sea and Baltic Sea and, from 2025, in the Mediterranean region.