France proposes making the Mediterranean an ECA
France is pushing to create an emissions control area (ECA) in the Mediterranean, Splash has learnt.
Sources tell Splash that France first proposed the idea at a meeting of the European Council at the start of this month. Since then government officials have begun to flesh out the idea to a number of environmental NGOs.
Exisiting ECAs around the world are across the Baltic and North Seas in Europe, coastal areas off the US and Canada and the US Caribbean Sea area while China has been trialling a number of ECAs in key port cluster areas.
Bill Hemmings, from NGO Transport & Environment, applauded today’s news, telling Splash: “Now that the global sulphur standard will be 0.5% in 2020 it’s right that the remaining EU seas including the Mediterranean should do more.”