Economic opportunity should see US get on board with shipping clean-up

(Climate Change News, 12 Nov 2019) Comment: Shipping is finally playing catch-up on air pollution standards, but the US is slow-balling attempts to agree cleaner targets.

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The US made huge progress improving the quality of the air we breathe under the Clean Power Plan.

However much the current administration tries to unwind that progress, everyone now pretty much accepts that we don’t have to damage our kids’ health in order to secure our power supply – we simply have better options.

Less known is that the giant ships that carry 80% of the world’s trade are also giant polluters, and that the current administration is trying to prevent clean-up efforts in this sphere as well.

The type of fuel burned by ships at sea, heavy fuel oil of a maximum of 3.5% sulphur, has long since been illegal to burn in power stations in the developed world.

This dirty fuel means that shipping currently accounts for around 400,000 premature deaths from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, and around 14 million childhood asthma cases every year.

Shipping is finally playing catch-up on air pollution standards. Next year under the UN International Maritime Organisation’s 2020 sulphur cap, marine fuel sulphur content will be lowered to 0.5% globally. That’s still 50 times more sulphurous than the 10 parts per million of sulphur allowed in road fuel in the US, but still, it’s a start.

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Climate Change News, 12 Nov 2019: Economic opportunity should see US get on board with shipping clean-up