The proposals should reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by up to 90%, and fine particle emissions by up to 80%.
The proposed legislation revises the Directive on the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels and incorporates new IMO standards into EU law to ensure their proper and harmonised enforcement by all EU Member States. Under the proposals, the maximum permissible sulphur content of maritime fuels used in sensitive areas (so-called ‘SECAs’) such as the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel will fall from the previous level of 1.5 % to 0.1 % from 1 January 2015. Other areas are to achieve an even bigger cut, from 4.5 % down to 0.5 % by 1 January 2020.