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(1) Council Directive 1999/32/EC has been substantially amended several times . In the interests of clarity and rationality, that Directive should be codified.

(2) The environmental policy of the Union, as set out in the action programmes on the environment, and in particular in the Sixth Environment Action Programme adopted by Decision No 1600/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council , and in the Seventh Environment Action Programme adopted by Decision No 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, has as one of its objectives to achieve levels of air quality that do not give rise to significant negative impacts on, and risks to, human health and the environment.

(3) Article 191(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that Union policy on the environment is to aim at a high level of protection, taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union.

(4) This Directive lays down the maximum permitted sulphur content of heavy fuel oil, gas oil, marine gas oil and marine diesel oil used in the Union.

(5) Emissions from shipping due to the combustion of marine fuels with a high sulphur content contribute to air pollution in the form of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter, which harm human health and the environment and contribute to acid deposition. Without the measures set out in this Directive, emissions from shipping would soon have been higher than emissions from all land-based sources.

(6) Acidification and atmospheric sulphur dioxide damage sensitive ecosystems, reduce biodiversity and amenity value and detrimentally affect crop production and the growth of forests. Acid rain falling in cities may cause significant damage to buildings and the architectural heritage. Sulphur dioxide pollution may also have a significant effect upon human health, particularly among those sectors of the population suffering from respiratory diseases.

(7) Acidification is a transboundary phenomenon requiring Union as well as national or local solutions.

(8) Emissions of sulphur dioxide contribute to the formation of particulate matter in the atmosphere.

(9) Air pollution caused by ships at berth is a major concern for many harbour cities when it comes to their efforts to meet the Union's air quality limit values.

(10) Member States should encourage the use of shore-side electricity, as the electricity for present-day ships is usually provided by auxiliary engines.

(11) The Union and the individual Member States are Contracting Parties to the UN-ECE Convention of 13 November 1979 on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. The second UN-ECE Protocol on transboundary pollution by sulphur dioxide stipulates that the Contracting Parties should reduce sulphur dioxide emissions in line with or beyond the 30 % reduction specified in the first Protocol, and the second UN-ECE Protocol is based on the premise that critical loads and levels will continue to be exceeded in some sensitive areas. Further measures to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions will still be required. The Contracting Parties should therefore make further significant reductions in emissions of sulphur dioxide.

(12) Sulphur, which is naturally present in small quantities in oil and coal, has for decades been recognised as the dominant source of sulphur dioxide emissions, which are one of the main causes of ‘acid rain’ and one of the major causes of the air pollution experienced in many urban and industrial areas.

(13) Studies have shown that the benefits from reducing sulphur emissions by reductions in the sulphur content of fuels will often be considerably greater than the estimated costs to industry in this Directive. The technology exists and is well established for reducing the sulphur level of liquid fuels.

(14) In accordance with Article 193 TFEU, this Directive should not prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective measures in order to encourage early implementation with respect to the maximum sulphur content of marine fuels, for instance using emission abatement methods outside SOx Emission Control Areas. Such measures are required to be compatible with the Treaties and are to be notified to the Commission.

(15) A Member State, before introducing new, more stringent protective measures, should notify the draft measures to the Commission in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

(16) The TFEU requires consideration to be given to the special characteristics of the outermost regions of the Union, namely the French overseas departments, the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands.

(17) With regard to the limit on the sulphur content of heavy fuel oil, it is appropriate to provide for derogations in Member States and regions where the environmental conditions so allow.

(18) With regard to the limit on the sulphur content of heavy fuel oil, it is also appropriate to provide for derogations for their use in combustion plants which comply with the emission limit values laid down in Directive 2001/80/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council , or in Annex V to Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council .

(19) For refinery combustion plants excluded from the scope of point (d) of Article 3(2) or point (c) of Article 3(3) of this Directive the emissions of sulphur dioxide averaged over such plants should not exceed the limits set out in Directive 2001/80/EC, or Annex V to Directive 2010/75/EU, or any future revision of those Directives. In the application of this Directive, Member States should bear in mind that substitution by fuels other than those referred to in Article 2 should not produce an increase in emissions of acidifying pollutants.

(20) In 2008, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted a resolution to amend Annex VI to the Protocol of 1997 to amend the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL), containing regulations for the prevention of air pollution from ships. The revised Annex VI to MARPOL entered into force on 1 July 2010.

(21) The revised Annex VI to MARPOL introduces, inter alia, stricter sulphur limits for marine fuel in SOx Emission Control Areas (1,00 % as of 1 July 2010 and 0,10 % as of 1 January 2015) as well as in sea areas outside SOx Emission Control Areas (3,50 % as of 1 January 2012 and, in principle, 0,50 % as of 1 January 2020). Most Member States are obliged, in accordance with their international commitments, to require ships to use fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 1,00 % in SOx Emission Control Areas as of 1 July 2010. In order to ensure coherence with international law as well as to secure proper enforcement of new globally established sulphur standards in the Union, this Directive should be in line with the revised Annex VI to MARPOL. In order to ensure a minimum quality of fuel used by ships either for fuel-based or technology-based compliance, marine fuel the sulphur content of which exceeds the general standard of 3,50 % by mass should not be allowed for use in the Union, except for fuels supplied to ships using emission abatement methods operating in closed mode.

(22) Amendments to Annex VI to MARPOL regarding SOx Emission Control Areas are possible under IMO procedures. In the event that further changes, including exemptions, are introduced with regard to the application of limits for SOx Emission Control Areas in Annex VI to MARPOL, the Commission should consider any such changes and, where appropriate, without delay make the necessary proposal in accordance with the TFEU to fully align this Directive with the IMO rules regarding SOx Emission Control Areas.

(23) The introduction of any new emission control areas should be subject to the IMO process under Annex VI to MARPOL and should be underpinned by a well-founded case based on environmental and economic grounds and supported by scientific data.

(24) In accordance with Regulation 18 of the revised Annex VI to MARPOL, Member States should endeavour to ensure the availability of marine fuels which comply with this Directive.

(25) In view of the global dimension of environmental politics and shipping emissions, ambitious emission standards should be set at a global level.

(26) The Union will continue to advocate more effective protection of areas sensitive to SOx emissions and a reduction in the normal limit value for bunker fuel oil at the IMO.

(27) Passenger ships operate mostly in ports or close to coastal areas and their impacts on human health and the environment are significant. In order to improve air quality around ports and coasts, those ships are required to use marine fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 1,50 % until stricter sulphur standards apply to all ships in territorial seas, exclusive economic zones and pollution control zones of Member States.

(28) In order to facilitate the transition to new engine technologies with the potential for significant further emission reductions in the maritime sector, the Commission should further explore opportunities to enable and encourage the uptake of gas-powered engines in ships.

(29) Proper enforcement of the obligations with regard to the sulphur content of marine fuels is necessary in order to achieve the aims of this Directive. The experience from the implementation of Directive 1999/32/EC has shown that there is a need for a stronger monitoring and enforcement regime in order to ensure the proper implementation of this Directive. To that end, it is necessary that Member States ensure sufficiently frequent and accurate sampling of marine fuel placed on the market or used on board ship as well as regular verification of ships' logbooks and bunker delivery notes. It is also necessary for Member States to establish a system of effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for non-compliance with the provisions of this Directive. In order to ensure more transparent information, it is also appropriate to provide that the register of local suppliers of marine fuel be made publicly available.