Press Release: Full speed ahead for clean ships as EU Parliament adopts marine fuel Directive in second reading

The European Commission welcomes a positive second-reading vote by the European Parliament on 13 April 2005 on a new marine fuel Directive. With this vote, the EU has finalised important legislation to cut sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particle emissions from seagoing ships. SO2 is an air pollutant which acidifies lake and forest ecosystems and harms human health. Particles can cause serious breathing problems and premature death. Ships have become the single biggest source of SO2 in the EU because the maritime sector has lagged behind land-based industry in environmental improvement. This agreement will reduce ship SO2 in the EU by over 500,000 tonnes a year from 2006.

European Parliament: Daily Notebook, 13.4.05: Limits on sulphur content of marine fuels http://europarl.europa.eu/omk/sipade2?PUBREF=-//EP//TEXT+PRESS+DN-20050413-1+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&LEVEL=2&NAV=S

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