LIFE4MEDECA - Knowledge Center

Following the successful introduction, in 2015, of the stricter maritime emissions limits (so called ECA – Emission Control Area) in waters of Northern Europe, several studies confirmed the clear cost-effectiveness of a similar regime in the Mediterranean after 2020.
Therefore, the Contracting States of the Barcelona Convention (the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean), approved at their 22nd meeting (COP22) in 2021 the designation of the whole Mediterranean as a Sulphur Emissions Control Area (SECA) and decided to initiate the legislative process toward a MED- NECA (NOx Emission Control Area).

The date of entry into force of the MED-SECA will be agreed upon by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in December 2022 and it is likely to be 2025.

The aim of the LIFE4MEDECA project is to inform discussion and possibly support decision making at the international and regional levels on the deployment of the MED-SECA and on the designation of the MED-NECA. Among its specific project objectives, those relevant for the Mission are:
OBJ01 - to complete the knowledge gathering based on existing knowledge and studies in synergy with work undertaken internationally under the coordination of REMPEC (the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea)
OBJ02 – to assess the impact of MED-ECA on deep sea shipping, short sea shipping and on other relevant activities including, but not limited to, biodiversity, fishing and tourism; to identify needs, bottlenecks and barriers to the implementation of MED-ECA
OBJ04 – to establish a wide ‘reference’ group of stakeholders and to engage them in targeted consultations and oversight so as to gather any relevant additional knowledge, identify further needs, facilitate transfer of best practices and dialog with and across industry
OBJ05 – to provide expertise for technical and legal capacity building as well as for financial support to the non-EU MED countries in their ECA deployment. This will be done by setting up a structure (“LIFE4MEDECA knowledge centre”) to support legislative governance/implementation road maps and to promote a coordinated approach to incentive/financial mechanisms for cooperation and enforcement.

The LIFE4MEDECA Knowledge Centre started being developed in March 2022, it will be launched in Lisbon at the TRA 2022 Conference (Transport Research Arena) and will be demonstrated to non-EU Mediterranean Countries at various seminars during 2023. After the LIFE4MEDECA project completion (31 December 2023), the LIFE4MEDECA Knowledge Centre will be maintained operational by SDG4MED.