The ports of Lisbon and Funchal are among the “top ten” port infrastructures in Europe with the highest levels of pollution associated with cruise ships, according to a study released on Monday by environmental association Zero.
“In absolute terms, Portugal remains the 6th European country with the highest levels of sulfur oxide (SOx) pollution emitted by cruise ships, after Italy (1st), Spain (2nd), Greece (3rd place), Norway (4th place). ) and France (5th)”, according to a new study by the European Federation for Transport and the Environment, of which the Association “Zero – Sustainable Earth System” is a member.
This study on European ports presents data for 2022 with the dynamics of air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cruise ships compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, confirming “increasing SOx emissions”. by 9%, nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 18% and fine particles by 25%.
These pollutants cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and contribute to ocean acidification and eutrophication, with negative effects on ecosystem balance, the Zero association said, pointing out that “in total, maritime transport accounts for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and about 250,000 premature deaths and about 6.4 million cases of childhood asthma per year worldwide.”
In 2022, 218 cruise ships cruising Europe emitted more sulfur oxides into the atmosphere than a billion cars, according to a study.
“In European ports, the sulfur content in fuel is limited to 0.1% (1000 ppm – parts per million), which is even 100 times higher than the limits set for automotive fuel (10 ppm),” the association’s environmentalist explained.
The “Top 10” European ports with the highest levels of pollution associated with cruise ships are led by the Spanish city of Barcelona, followed by Civitavecchia (Italy), Piraeus (Greece), Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), Hamburg (Germany), Southampton (UK), Mykonos (Greece), Thira (Greece) and Funchal (Portugal).
Ranked 5th in this “ranking”, the port of Lisbon was the port with the highest cruise ship traffic (108) in Europe in 2022, as in the previous report published in 2019, with elevated sulfur emissions. oxides.
“In Lisbon, cruise ships emitted 2.44 times more SOx than about 374,000 passenger vehicles registered in the city (about 11 tons compared to 4.5 tons respectively),” Zero said, adding that ships emitted about 278 tons of NOx, which corresponds to up to 12% of the emissions of this pollutant from cars plying the Portuguese capital.
In 10th place, the Port of Funchal recorded 96 cruise ship calls in 2022, a “dramatic increase from 2019 of about 75 calls”, contributing to rising levels of air pollution, leading to the inclusion of -o in the top ten the best.” ‘ of the ports most affected by SOx pollution, when it used to be ranked 15th.
For environmental association Zero, “there is an urgent need to limit pollution from cruise ships” with stricter measures in Portuguese and European ports following the example of Venice, which had the most polluted cruise port in Europe in 2019 and “dropped to 41st position in 2022” after the prohibition of entry of large ships.
In a statement, Zero warned that “false solutions such as fossil gas are increasing the environmental and climate impact of these large polluting monsters”, accusing cruise operators of “deceptive environmental advertising campaigns” and saying port authorities should avoid any new investment in fossil gas. supply infrastructure, focusing efforts and investments on the supply of renewable non-biological fuels.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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