[Index]
AIR POLLUTION
PROTOCOL TAKES EFFECT ON 17 MAY
Geneva, 13 May 2005 - The Protocol
to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication
and Ground-level Ozone to the
Convention on Long-range Transboundary
Air Pollution of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) will enter
into force on Tuesday, 17 May 2005. It
has so far been ratified by: the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, the United States and the
European Community.
The Protocol aims to
cut emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides,
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and
ammonia from energy generation, industrial
sources, motor vehicles, agriculture and
products.
Acidification, eutrophication
and ground-level ozone continue to destroy
our environment and to harm our health.
For instance, acidification
affects fish populations and forest soils
in Europe and North America and causes
corrosion of buildings and monuments.
In sensitive areas, high nitrogen deposition
results in eutrophication.
Some plant species grow excessively and
others disappear. In coastal and inland
waters, blooms of - often toxic - algae
deplete oxygen, harming plants, fish and
other life forms. Industrial and motor
vehicle emissions and the use of certain
products (e.g. solvents and paints) cause
ground-level ozone (‘summer
smog’). Ground-level ozone damages
lung function, particularly in children
and asthmatics. Ozone also causes leaf
injury in plants, including crops and
trees, and causes mainly organic materials
like paint or rubber to disintegrate.
Finally, cutting the pollutants targeted
by the Protocol will also significantly
lower concentrations of particles,
which cause severe respiratory problems.
The Protocol sets reduction
targets for all four pollutants. By 2010,
Europe’s sulphur emissions should
be cut by 63%, its NOx emissions by 41%,
its VOC emissions by 40% and its ammonia
emissions by 17% compared to their 1990
levels. Each country’s individual
ceilings depend (a) on the impact that
its emissions have on public health and
(b) on the vulnerability of the environment
that they pollute. Countries whose emissions
have the most severe health or environmental
impact and whose emissions are the cheapest
to reduce will have to make the biggest
cuts.
The Protocol also sets
limit values for specific emission sources
(e.g. combustion plant, electricity production,
dry cleaning, cars and lorries) and requires
best available techniques to be used to
keep emissions down. VOC emissions from
such products as paints or aerosols will
also have to be cut. Finally, farmers
will have to control ammonia emissions
(manure, artificial fertilizer).
Calculations made during
the Protocol’s negotiations showed
that, once all the targets are met, the
area in Europe with excessive levels of
acidification will shrink from 93 million
hectares in 1990 to 15 million hectares
in 2010. That with excessive levels of
eutrophication will fall from 165 million
hectares in 1990 to 108 million hectares
in 2010. The number of days with excessive
ozone levels will be halved. Consequently,
it is estimated that life-years lost as
a result of the chronic effects of ozone
exposure will be about 2,300,000 lower
in 2010 than in 1990, and there will be
approximately 47,500 fewer premature deaths
resulting from ozone and particulate matter
in the air. The exposure of vegetation
to excessive ozone levels will be 44%
down on 1990.
Furthermore, an analysis
carried out during the Protocol’s
negotiations showed that its expected
benefits (healthier population, higher
agricultural productivity, less damage
to buildings, etc.) far outweigh its estimated
costs (e.g. end-of-pipe control or energy-efficiency
measures) – probably by a factor
of 3 or more.
The first meeting of
the Parties to the Protocol will take
place in December 2005. The Parties will
include Slovakia. It recently ratified
the Protocol, which will enter into force
for it in July.
The Protocol is available
in English, French and Russian on the
UNECE website:
http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/multi_h1.htm
For further information, please contact:
Keith BULL
Environment and Human Settlements
Division
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations, office 346
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41(0)22 917 23 54
Fax: +41(0)22 917 06 21
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/
Ref: ECE/ENV/05/P04