Proposal for a Decision on the acceptance of the Amendment to the 1999 Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone

The 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (the LRTAP Convention) concluded under the auspices of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is the main international legal framework for cooperation and measures to limit and gradually reduce and prevent air pollution and its adverse effects upon human health and the environment in the UNECE region, with a specific focus on long-range transboundary air pollution.

To date, the LRTAP Convention has been extended by eight Protocols, including the 1999 Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone. This Protocol promotes a multi-pollutant approach to prevent or minimize exceedances of critical loads of acidification and nutrient nitrogen and critical levels of ozone for human health and vegetation. To that effect, it sets national emission ceilings for each Party to be met by 2010 and thereafter for the following four air pollutants: sulphur (mainly sulphur dioxide, SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds other than methane (VOC).

In accordance with Article 10(2) of the Protocol, the obligations were reviewed in 2005 to 2007. The review concluded that more efforts would be needed to meet the environmental and human health-related objectives of achieving critical loads and levels for long term protection of human health and the environment. In 2007, the Parties opened negotiations with a view to amending the Protocol.

The amended Protocol sets out new national emission reduction commitments to be met by 2020 and beyond for the above-mentioned four air pollutants as well as for fine particulate matter. It also promotes emission reductions for black carbon, updates the emission limit values set in the Protocol Annexes, establishes new standards on the content of non-methane volatile organic compounds in products, and completes the reporting obligation of the Parties regarding the emissions of air pollutants as well as the progress made in the fields of technology and research.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)917: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:917:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)531: Impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:531:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)532: Executive summary of the impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:532:FIN

ESO: Environment: New policy package to clean up Europe's air http://www.europeansources.info/record/environment-new-policy-package-to-clean-up-europes-air/

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