Stand.earth hails stunning new ICCT ship dumping report as a wake up call to U.S., Canada
Oceans face a massive fossil fuel combustion wastewater problem from ships, and world leaders must act now to stop further pollution
Unceded Coast Salish Territories (VANCOUVER, BC) and Traditional Lummi and Nooksack Lands (BELLINGHAM, WA) — Around the world, oceans and coastal communities face major threats from a growing and unnecessary ship pollution wastestream from systems called scrubbers, and the risks posed to human health and marine ecosystems will only continue to increase unless pollution-generating technologies are banned.
This is according to a new report released by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) today, which found that the world’s oceangoing vessels discharge 10 gigatonnes of wastewater from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (ECGS), or scrubbers, per year — and the problem is growing exponentially. This is nearly equivalent to the total amount of cargo that ships carry globally each year, which is 90 per cent of all global trade.