- Black carbon, typically produced by incomplete combustion in marine engines, contributes to global warming and is linked to health impacts.
- It is considered a key driver of the rapid loss of Arctic Sea ice, a region experiencing significant environmental stress due to rapid warming.
A recent study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) indicates that carbon dioxide (CO₂) and black carbon emissions from ships operating in and out of European Union (EU) ports dominate emissions from large vessels in the Arctic and are likely higher than previously assumed, according to Clean Arctic Alliance’s release.
Onus is on the EU
Dr. Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliance, commented: “This study should spur EU member states and the European Commission to realise the onus is on the EU, along with Arctic states, to spearhead regulatory action that will reduce shipping’s impacts on the Arctic.”
Black carbon emissions from ships, when deposited directly on Arctic ice or snow, have a disproportionate impact in a region already facing catastrophic climate breakdown.
Nearly fifteen years ago, the global community—through the International Maritime Organization (IMO)—resolved to address the impact of black carbon emissions from ships on the Arctic, yet action is still pending.
Ahead of the next meeting of IMO’s Pollution Prevention and Response sub-committee in early 2026 (PPR 13), Dr. Prior emphasized: “The EU must lead global action to secure a regulation in MARPOL Annex VI—the international convention which regulates discharges and emissions from ships—requiring shipping in the Arctic to only use cleaner polar fuels such as marine distillates. With the Arctic warming four times faster than anywhere else on Earth, there is no time to lose.”
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Source: ICCT
