Responding to reports from EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service that global sea ice cover reached a record low in February, the Clean Arctic Alliance has called on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the shipping sector to slash black carbon emissions from shipping in the Arctic region.
Dr. Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, stated that with the Arctic warming four times faster than the rest of the planet and global sea ice hitting a record low, the IMO and its member states must urgently take action to reduce the increasing emissions of black carbon from the shipping sector.
Global Temperatures
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S):
- February 2025 was the third warmest February globally, with an average ERA5 surface air temperature of 13.36°C, 0.63°C above the 1991-2020 average for February, and only marginally warmer, by 0.03°C, than the fourth warmest of 2020.
- February 2025 was 1.59°C above the estimated 1850-1900 average used to define the pre-industrial level and was the 19th month in the last 20 months* for which the global-average surface air temperature was more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level.
- The global-average temperature for boreal winter 2025 (December 2024 to February 2025) was the second highest on record at 0.71°C above the 1991-2020 average for these three months, 0.05°C cooler than the record set for boreal winter 2024.
- The 12-month period of March 2024 – February 2025 was 0.71°C above the 1991-2020 average, and 1.59°C above the pre-industrial level.
She explained that if all shipping still using heavy fuel oils in the Arctic were to switch to cleaner distillate fuel, there would be an immediate reduction in black carbon emissions. Additionally, if diesel particulate filters were installed on all Arctic vessels, black carbon emissions from shipping could be reduced by over 90%.
Prior emphasized that IMO Member States must urgently take steps to develop a new regulation in Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention to address one of the longest-running issues on the IMO’s agenda: reducing the impact of black carbon emissions on the Arctic. She suggested that the new rule should mandate the use of polar fuels—fuels that result in low or zero black carbon emissions—in and near the Arctic.
Bill Hemmings, Black Carbon Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, mentioned that at a recent meeting of the IMO’s Pollution Prevention and Response sub-committee in January (PPR 12), the marine fuel industry outlined the fuel quality characteristics of distillate grade fuels, such as DMA, which could replace the current use of residual fuels in the Arctic and help lower black carbon emissions from ships. He added that these fuels, referred to as “polar fuels,” are widely available and easier to clean up if spilled than residual fuels.
Hemmings noted that this marks a significant step forward in defining polar fuels, which could include low or zero-carbon fuels being developed to reduce ship GHG emissions, ultimately leading to real reductions in shipping’s climate impacts on the Arctic.
Black carbon will be addressed next by the IMO at PPR 13, likely in early 2026.
