The U.S. and Canada Move to Slash Deadly Ship Emissions

The dramatic increase of piracy off the coast of Somalia has led numerous leaders to echo President Obama's vow "to halt the rise of piracy." Ironically, the ships being targeted by pirates are arguably responsible for a form of piracy far more damaging and impactful to the world community -- they rob us of our health and right to clean air.

Every year over 90,000 cargo ships sail the world's oceans emitting roughly as much air pollution as the world's 760 million cars. This pollution causes 60,000 deaths each year and hundreds of thousands of cases of asthma, heart attacks, and other ailments. And because there is no environmental regulation on the high seas, cargo ships, oil tankers, and cruise vessels are able to burn bunker fuel, the dirtiest of fuels. Did you know that the bunker fuel used in shipping has a sulfur content 1800 times greater than the fuel used in U.S. on-road diesel vehicles?!

In an aggressive and coordinated move, the United States and Canada have teamed up to combat ship emission by proposing to create the toughest standards in the world. On March 27, the two North American countries submitted a joint application to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish the largest Emissions Control Area (ECA) in the world. Once approved, all ships that enter into a 230 mile buffer zone around the coasts of the two countries would have to switch to fuels that would cut sulfur emissions by 98 percent and reduce other cancer and smog-forming pollutants by more than 80 percent. With ship traffic calling at North American ports expected to double or triple over the next few decades, these standards will be critical.

Establishing an ECA around the U.S. and Canada will act as a cost-effective regulatory fortress to protect our cities and our environment from ship pollution. The price tag of these new regulations is estimated at $3.2 billion while the public health benefits will number $28 billion annually and save as many as 8,300 lives every year -- and it will reduce the impacts of ship pollution on our rivers, lakes, and wilderness areas.

"This is an important – and long overdue – step in our efforts to protect the air and water along our shores, and the health of the people in our coastal communities," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "We want to ensure the economic strength of our port cities at the same time that we take responsible steps to protect public health and the environment in the United States and across the globe."

Over the past several years Communities for Clean Ports has labored, along with a wide coalition of groups, to advocate for the cleanest trains, trucks, and cargo equipment at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. While these efforts have had great success, ships continue to spew unregulated diesel pollution just miles off our coasts. The U.S./Canada Emissions Control Area will make sure that the tens of thousands of ships that call at North American ports operate in a clean and responsible manner.