The environmental association Zero defended this Wednesday the creation of a zone of controlled emissions in the northeastern area of the Atlantic Ocean, with the aim of limiting pollution derived from maritime transport.
The intention is to create an integrated zone of controlled emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, linking through the Northeast Atlantic the areas that already exist in the Baltic, North, English Channel and Mediterranean seas.
“It is a fundamental step towards fight against air pollution resulting from maritime transport and the consequent protection of the environment and human life throughout the European continent,” Zero writes in a statement.
In these zones, the fuel used by ships cannot exceed 0.1% sulfur, which is five times less than the current limit, and all ships must use technologies that significantly reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.
These limitations are intended to respond to a context in which the weight of maritime transport in the world economy is increasing, with significant impacts on air and water quality that harm marine biodiversity and estuaries and human health.
“Emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from ships cause some 60,000 premature deaths a year worldwide,” says Zero, arguing that, therefore, “creating controlled air pollutant emission areas is taking care of the health of the populations and ecosystems.
In Zero’s opinion, the proposal is particularly relevant in the Portuguese context, since the country’s coastal area is a transit point for the world’s main trade routes and, therefore, is more exposed to the harmful effects of pollution. atmosphere of ships.
“It is imperative that Portugal acts to minimize, as far as possible, the effects of air pollution associated with ships along its coast”, adds the association.
In the same statement, Zero also welcomes the commitment announced by the prime minister on Monday, the first day of the 2022 UN Oceans Conference, on the creation of a controlled emissions area.
Among the objectives assumed at the opening of the Conference, which will last until Friday in Lisbon, António Costa said that Portugal will create, in partnership with the European Maritime Safety Agency, “a pilot area of controlled emissions in the Portuguese sea”.
Source: Observadora
