Meeting online on 27-28 April 2021, more than 50 participants representing 20 (out of the 22) Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention agreed on a set of conclusions and recommendations that pave the way for the possible designation of the Mediterranean Sea, as a whole, as an “Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides (Med SOx ECA) pursuant to Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)”. The endeavour is part of the implementation of the Regional Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Marine Pollution from Ships (2016-2021).
Representatives of the Contracting Parties, who were joined during the two-day meeting by participants from regional and international organisations, voiced satisfaction at the progress that REMPEC—a UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre jointly administered with IMO— achieved on knowledge gathering, the preparations of further studies and other key milestones for the submission of a Med SOx ECA proposal to IMO, in line with MARPOL Annex VI. The meeting signalled the unfaltering commitment of the Contracting Parties to this ambitious proposal.
Beneath the ambition of the proposal lies a complex process that entails careful planning, thorough intergovernmental consultations and robust knowledge on prerequisites and implications. The meeting was prepared jointly with other Components of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system, namely the Mediterranean Pollution Assessment and Control Programme (MED POL) and Plan Bleu Regional Activity Centre (PB/RAC). A committee composed of experts from the 22 Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, assembled by REMPEC, had recently addressed technical aspects in accordance with the roadmap adopted by the Contracting Parties at COP 21 Barcelona Convention in 2019 (Decision IG.24/8).
In the coming weeks, the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols will further discuss the formulation of the joint Med SOx ECA proposal. The Fourteenth Meeting of the Focal Points of REMPEC, to be held online from 31 May to 2 June 2021, will be one of the last institutional milestones before the Contracting Parties examine the Med SOx ECA proposal at their twenty-second meeting (COP 22 Barcelona Convention) due in Antalya, Turkey, in December 2021.
What’s at stake?
By capping the sulphur content in fuel oil used on board ships at one fifth of the current global legal limit, the proposed Med SOx ECA would lead to a 78.7 per cent decrease of overall Sulphur Oxide emissions in the region. This would be significant as the Mediterranean Sea remains one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. In 2019, it saw around 24 per cent of the global fleet of ships and more than 17 per cent of worldwide cruises sail by.
Emissions from ships contribute to the overall air quality degradation in the Mediterranean region, particularly in coastal zones. Emissions of Sulphur Oxides (SOx) can cause acid rain and can combine with other pollutants to generate fine particles. The inhalation of that brand of particulate matter can lead to a morbid array of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that comprises childhood asthmas. It is also correlated with lower life expectancy and premature deaths. In 2016 more than 228,000 people died prematurely from exposure to air pollution, according to the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED), a flagship UNEP/MAP publication produced by Plan Bleu.
Lower SOx levels result in cleaner air, which in turn translates into better health, including a reduced vulnerability to COVID-19—a disease known to take acute forms when the virus encounters underlying conditions—and other ailments of its ilk.
If it sees the light of day, the positive ripple effect of the proposed Med SOx ECA would go beyond the shipping sector to sweep through the Blue Economy and its multiple interfaces with land-based revenue-generating pursuits in the Mediterranean. It would send a signal to markets and act as a nudge to flick the green switch. In an op-ed published in 2020, the UNEP/MAP Coordinator argued that Med Sox ECA would usher in a green renaissance in the region.
Investing in sustainability requires the transformation of key economic sectors that are identified as drivers of environmental degradation, including transport and shipping. This will entail paying a green premium covering the cost of decoupling growth from pollution, which is achieved through the introduction of technology upgrades and cleaner sources of energy (among other ways). But the green premium is quickly offset by the benefits that pollution reduction offers in terms of public health and healthier ecosystems, as the MED Sox ECA proposal eloquently illustrates.
Learn more
- Read the press release issued by REMPEC on the Regional Expert Meeting on the possible designation of the Med SOx ECA (online, 27-28 April 2021).
- Read more about the implementation of the roadmap for a proposal for the possible designation of the Med SOx ECA.
- Read the Op-ed by the UNEP/MAP Coordinator: “The breeze that may herald a green renaissance in the Mediterranean”.
- Watch the recording of the webinar entitled “Making Peace with Nature and Delivering on the SDGs in the Mediterranean”.
