Ships crossing the Northeast Atlantic will have to cut sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions in a move adopted Friday by a UN agency to help protect the environment.After a meeting in London, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed to set up a new Emission Control Area in the region.
It will create a joined up zone around the coasts of Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, the UK, France, Spain and Portugal.
It will be the sixth and largest control zone established by the IMO.
Ships operating in the area will have to reduce sulphur emissions by 80 percent from 2027, with the new restrictions coming into full force the following year.
"Cutting SOx and NOx emissions reduces risks of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, strokes and childhood asthma," the IMO said in a statement.
"It also improves visibility at sea and reduces acidification, helping protect crops and forests."
The new restrictions in the ECA "could also prevent 118 to 176 premature deaths in 2030, with a cumulative reduction of 2,900 to 4,300 premature deaths from 2030 to 2050", said the countries which backed the proposal.
Shipping expert Sonke Diesener, senior policy officer with German conservation group NABU, said ECAs "have a remarkable benefit for the climate: high quality fuels reduce ground level ozone formation and drive energy efficiency".
That led to a "reduction in fuel consumption and thereby CO2 emissions".
"Raising the costs for the dirtiest fossil operations also helps to foster the uptake of decarbonisation technologies," he added.
