# Monitoring the 2020 IMO Fuel regulation

**Question**: Has the 2020 IMO fuel regulation had any noticeable impact on air pollution from shipping?

## Rationale

From 1st January 2020 the global upper limit on the sulphur content of ships' fuel oil was reduced <font color="green">from 3.50% to 0.50%</font> (from [https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/34-IMO-2020-sulphur-limit-.aspx](https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/34-IMO-2020-sulphur-limit-.aspx)).


*Image from [IMO 2020 - cleaner shipping for cleaner air, 20 December 2019](https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/34-IMO-2020-sulphur-limit-.aspx)*

According to the [International Maritime Organization (IMO)](https://www.imo.org/) the new limit should lead to a <font color="green">77% drop</font> in overall SOx emissions from ships.

The Figure below shows the 5 key beneficial changes from IMO's **Sulphur Limit** for Ships' fuel oil:


## This Research Object's purpose

In this work we look as the **actual impact of these measures on air pollution along shipping routes in Europe** based on Copernicus air quality data. [Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)](https://ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/home) uses satellite data and other observations, together with computer models, to track the accumulation and movement of air pollutants around the planet (see [https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/air-quality](https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/air-quality)).

### Rohub - Adam plateform integration

Some of this CAMS data is available from the [Adam platform](https://adamplatform.eu) and can be imported into a [Research Object](https://www.researchobject.org).


It is also possible, from the Research Object, to open the resource in the Adam platform, then interactively zoom into a particular geographical area (say to the right of the Strait of Gibraltar, along the track presumably followed by cargo ships to/from the Suez Canal) and change the date (for example between 2018-07-19 and 2023-07-19) to appreciate the change.

#### To go further

Obviously **a more detailed statistical analysis** would be required to minimize the effect of external factors (meteorological condition, level of cargo traffic, etc.) over a <font color="red">longer period of time</font> to derive meaningful conclusions, however it does not seem that the high level of sulfur dioxide concentration from the pre-IMO regulation was reached after.

##### Looking at other pollutants

Besides SOx the new regulation also contributed to decrease atmospheric concentrations in nitric oxides (NOx) as well as particulate matter (PM).

### References

- [IMO 2020 - cleaner shipping for cleaner air, 20 December 2019](https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/pages/34-IMO-2020-sulphur-limit-.aspx)