WWF, coalition, say no to heavy fuel oil as Arctic shipping fuel
Posted on 03 October 2016
WWF is part of a new coalition of NGOs, The Clean Arctic Alliance, asking states to #saynotoHFO.
WWF is part of a new coalition of NGOs, The Clean Arctic Alliance, asking states to say no to HFO. The coalition has made a submission to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) calling for an end to the use of this thick and heavy oil-based fuel in Arctic shipping. Currently, three-quarters of the fuel used in Arctic shipping is HFO.The Arctic environment is particularly vulnerable to spills of heavy fuel oil. It degrades more slowly under Arctic conditions and is more difficult to clean up because of icy conditions and a lack of nearby response equipment.
The US and Canada have also submitted a paper to the IMO outlining the need to mitigate impacts of this polluting fuel.
The Arctic Ocean’s summer sea ice will be gone within a generation, according to projections from scientists studying the melt. As it goes, it removes a whole ecosystem associated with the sea ice. Since 1979, arctic summer sea ice extent has been declining at a rate of 11.2 percent per decade.
© WWF / Mireille de la Lez/www.vanishingworld.se
The Arctic Ocean’s summer sea ice will be gone within a generation, according to projections from scientists studying the melt. As it goes, it removes a whole ecosystem associated with the sea ice. Since 1979, arctic summer sea ice extent has been declining at a rate of 11.2 percent per decade.
© WWF / Mireille de la Lez/www.vanishingworld.se
Download
Clean Arctic Alliance Position Paper on Heavy Fuel Oil in the Arctic
PDF 384 KB
Submission to the IMO on HFO in the Arctic - United States and Canada
PDF 92 KB
Submission to the IMO on HFO in the Arctic - Clean Arctic Alliance
PDF 780 KB
Proposals for mitigating the risks associated with the use and carriage of HFO by vessels in the Arctic
PDF 415 KB
Arctic fuel switching impact study
PDF 1.47 MB