Delegates from Canada and Norway submitted proposals to designate their Arctic Ocean waters as emissions control areas (ECAs) during the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) 81st Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting.
Canada's proposal would regulate its Arctic waters as an ECA for nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulphur oxide (SOX), and particular matter (PM), while Norway proposes an ECA for NOX and SOX emissions. The two areas are not covered by the existing North Sea and North America ECAs.
The proposals were met positively by most other groups at the meeting, including delegates from the Cook Islands, Finland, the US, Mexico, Panama, and Ireland — all of whom supported the proposals going into consideration by the technical committee.
But the proposals faced resistance from the Russian Federation, whose delegate said the proposals do not meet the "specified requirements for ECA designation" under MARPOL regulations — pointing to insignificant navigation networks in those areas, lack of a major port, and a sparse population in the two areas under the proposal. The delegate from Russia added that the control measures against NOX and SOX emissions in those areas can be introduced on a national legislative level, rather than being proposed under MARPOL regulations.
The session concluded with MEPC agreeing to establish a technical group on the designation of ECAs to evaluate the two proposals.
