After the International Maritime Organization (IMO) declared the Mediterranean an Emission Control Area for sulphur, effective from May 2025, a group of NGOs is now pushing to also establish an Emission Control Area for nitrogen oxides (NECA).
To remind, during IMO MEPC 79, a resolution was approved designating the Mediterranean Sea as an Emission Control Area for sulphur oxides and particulates under MARPOL Annex VI. Most recently, latest IMO MEPC (82nd Session) adopted amendments designating the Norwegian Sea and the Canadian Arctic as Emission Control Areas (ECAs) as well.
In an effort to improve the air quality around the Mediterranean Sea, an alliance of NGOs is now calling for better regulation to protect the health of more than 260 million citizens as well as marine ecosystems from the harmful effects of shipping in the Mediterranean Sea.
The alliance has been founded as of 2016 and gathers mainly NGOs from the Mediterranean such as Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece but also beyond such as NABU from Germany and ZERO from Portugal.
Shipping plays an important role in people’s lives around the Mediterranean. But despite its advantages the use of dirty fuels and the lack of proper exhaust after-treatment technology puts a threat to human health and ecosystems.
Sönke Diesener, shipping expert at NABU, stressed that the health benefits for residents all around the Mediterranean are clear, as limiting the pollutants emitted by ships can help prevent respiratory diseases and premature deaths. “The benefits by far outweigh the costs imposed on shipping companies to clean up their exhausts,” he added, emphasizing the urgent need to declare the Mediterranean Sea a NECA as well.
This important measure will have positive impacts not only on citizens health but also on the agriculture and marine environments. France played a major role in the process of establishing a SECA in 2023 and hopefully will follow up on their past work to complement the framework for a safer maritime environment.
…said Jean-Philippe Hermine, Managing Director of Institut Mobilités en Transition, France.
Dídac Navarro, environmental activist at Ecologistas en Accion, Spain added that ports are one of the major sources of pollution that harm our air. Thus, the new directive will contribute to specific measures being taken to reduce emissions from maritime transport.
Maria Papathanasiou, Community Engagement Officer at the Hellenic Ornithological Society, emphasized that reducing ship emissions benefits both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. She urged immediate action to designate the Mediterranean as both a SECA and NECA to address climate change and protect the health of millions.
NECAs are part of MARPOL Annex VI, aimed at reducing NOx emissions from ships, which contribute to air pollution and environmental harm. IMO has designated the following areas as NECAs, where stricter limits on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ships are enforced: North American NECA, United States Caribbean Sea NECA, Baltic Sea NECA and North Sea NECA.
