Reacting to publication of a detailed study, Black carbon and CO2 emissions from EU-regulated shipping in the Arctic by the International Council on Clean Transportation , which finds that CO2 and black carbon e missions from ships operating in and out of EU portsdominate the emissions from large ships in the Arctic and are likely higher than previously assumed, Dr Sian Prior, Lead Advisor to the Clean Arctic Alliancesaid:

“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 emission from ships on the Arctic – yet we were still waiting for action.”

“Ahead of the next meeting of IMO’s Pollution Prevention and Response sub-committee in early 2026 (PPR 13), 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.”