CLEARING THE AIR 25 years of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

180 Pages·2004·10.91 MB·English

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ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
Geneva
CLEARING THE AIR
25 years of the Convention on
Long-range Transboundary
Air Pollution
Editors
Johan Sliggers and Willem Kakebeeke
UNITED NATIONS
New York and Geneva 2004
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Note
Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures.
Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document.
*
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The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the
expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimita-
tion of its frontiers or boundaries.
The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) or any of its member States.
ECE/EB.AIR/84
Copyright ©United Nations, 2004
All rights reserved
Printed at United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION
Sales No. E.04.11.E.20
ISBN 92-1-116910-0
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Foreword by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
By the late 1970s, air pollution had become the main environmental problem facing many countries
in Europe and North America, harming people’s health and damaging historic buildings and
monuments. Acid rain, brought on by contamination of the air, was taking a particularly heavy toll,
killing forests and lakes even in remote places far from industrial facilities.
In 1979, the Member States of the UN Economic Commission for Europe adopted the Convention on
Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. Negotiated under UNECE’s auspices, the Convention was the
first international environmental agreement to address this threat to human health and well-being.
After 25 years of international cooperation, its Parties are reaping the benefits of the cuts in air
pollution that they have made in compliance with the Convention’s provisions.
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It is not just the people of Europe and North America who are benefiting. Other regions are keen to
emulate the successful combination of sound science and ambitious policy-making that underpins the
Convention, and adapt it to their particular needs. In addition, some of the Convention’s work, for
instance on persistent organic pollutants such as DDT and dioxins, has been used as a model for
worldwide environmental agreements.
The Convention has also galvanized action within UNECE. Since the Convention’s adoption, the
Commission has become a prolific environmental-law-making forum. It has negotiated four more
regional environmental conventions, covering international rivers and lakes, industrial accidents, en
vironmental impact assessment and public participation. All four have entered into force and are
contributing to making sustainable development a reality.
On the 25th anniversary of the Convention’s adoption, I congratulate all the stakeholders on the
achievements of the past quarter century, and encourage them to continue their efforts to find
innovative approaches to protecting the purity of the air we breathe.
Kofi A. Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations
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Foreword by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe
For 25 years the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution has been one of the
main means of protecting public health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution
across the UNECE region.
With its eight protocols, the Convention has developed comprehensive and strong commitments
covering all major pollutants. It has thus significantly improved the air we breathe. For example,
compared to 1980, sulphur emissions in Europe are down by 60 per cent while in Canada and the
United States they are almost halved. However, we still have much to do, in particular to meet the goals
set for the pollutants which migrate and affect millions of people living in cities throughout the world.
Over the past quarter of a century the politics of Europe has changed. These changes have not altered
the political willingness of member States to work together under the Convention. On the contrary,
the countries of the region increasingly share the conviction that further cooperation is needed to
combat air pollution, as its impact on both human health and the future of the planet is a major
preoccupation of public opinion.
The Convention and its protocols have set targets and defined legislative and other measures required
for meeting them. A major challenge now is to implement these measures effectively, in particular in
South-East Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, where countries need special
support, as their industries develop and road traffic expands. I therefore welcome the Convention’s
increasing emphasis on protecting people and their environment in these subregions.
For its part, the UNECE secretariat will spare no effort in providing continued support for the work
that the Parties to the Convention will undertake in the future.
I wish to congratulate all the stakeholders on the achievements of the past 25 years and look forward
to further successes in meeting the challenges ahead, which, in many ways, are even more complex
than those we have dealt with since the adoption of the Convention.
Brigita Schmögnerová
Executive Secretary of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
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List of Contributors
Altogether 58 persons worked to make this book a success as lead-authors, co-authors, reviewers or
resource persons:
Roel van Aalst, Christer Ågren, Markus Amann, Helen Apsimon, Richard Ballaman, Lars Björkbom,
Jim Bruce, Tom Brydges, Keith Bull, Mike Chadwick, Radovan Chrast, Harald Dovland, Wayne Draper,
Martin Forsius, Oddmund Graham, Heinz Gregor, Peringe Grennfelt, Jean-Paul Hettelingh, Thomas
Haußmann, Harry Harmens, Leen Hordijk, Helmuth Hojeski, Andrzej Jagusiewicz, Dieter Jost, Willem
Kakebeeke, Volkert Keizer, Endre Kovacs, Michal Krzyzanowski, Vladimir Kucera, Tuomas Kuokkanen,
Berit Kvaeven, Lars Lindau, Martin Lorenz, Lars Lundin, Martin Lutz, Rob Maas, Hans Martin,
Wojciech Mill, Gina Mills, Lars Nordberg, Max Posch, Peter Sand, Kaj Sanders, Toni Schneider, Jürgen
Schneider, Brit Lisa Skjelkvåle, Johan Sliggers, Jaap Slootweg, Valentin Sokolovsky, Till Spranger,
Patrick Széll, Jan Thompson, Johan Tidblad, Arne Tollan, Willemijn Tuinstra, Merete J. Ulstein, Les
White, Henning Wuester.
A special thanks to Caroline Lambein and Keith Bull for editing the text and to Michel van Wassem for
the design and lay out of this book.
Photo cover: www.renevanderhulst.nl
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Preface
This book, like the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and its protocols, has been
an international cooperative effort. The teams of authors have revisited the history of acid rain and air
pollution in the UNECE region, an area that extends from the United States and Canada in the West to
Central Asia in the East. But the Convention is not just history; the book also considers its future.
The memories, perceptions and reflections of the contributors have been brought together here to
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mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention. The contributors were or still are involved in the work of
the Convention as government officials, members United Nations staff, national experts from insti-
tutes and universities or representatives of international NGOs.
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Nearly 60 authors and other contributors have collaborated on this book, each with experience in one
or more areas of the work under the Convention. They have contributed to the book in a private capac-
ity so the views expressed are their own.
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Without any exception, all who were asked were eager to contribute. We realize that no doubt others
would have been equally willing; however, we hope that they will understand the limits to our ability to
coordinate such a large number of contributors. Even so, the enthusiastic support given by the
authors made it a pleasure for us as editors, assisted by the UNECE secretariat, to complete our task.
It was hard work but enjoyable.
This book pays tribute to all our colleagues, past and present, who have helped to develop the
Convention and its protocols and move from the ‘Fruits of the Cold War’ to ‘Blue Skies Forever’.
Johan Sliggers and Willem Kakebeeke, editors
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Table of contents
Note ii
Foreword by the Secretary-General of the United Nations iii
Foreword by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe v
List of Contributors vi
Preface vii
Table of contents ix
Abbreviations xi
1. Introduction 1
2. Fruits of the Cold War: The Convention and the First Sulphur Protocol 7
Fruits of a cold war 7
Waldsterben, a breakthrough 15
The North American connection perceived by a Canadian 17
Thoughts about the dynamics behind the process: the role of externalities 20
The Fifth Perception 25
3. EMEP - Backbone of the Convention 31
Conception and birth of EMEP 31
Further development of EMEP 32
Coordinating centres in EMEP 40
Future of EMEP 43
4. Software and hardware, no protocols without technologies 45
Technologies and reduction of emissions 46
Protocols and technologies 49
What's next on technologies? 56
5. Air pollution effects drive abatement strategies 59
Development of scientific knowledge for the Convention 61
Policy developments driving the effects programme 66
Eastern Europe and the Convention before and after 1989 68
The current structure of the Working Group on Effects 69
Modelling and mapping of critical loads and levels for use in integrated assessment 73
Conclusions and challenges 80
6. Integrated assessment modelling - the tool 85
The rise of integrated assessment modelling 85
Further development of integrated assessment models 89
Future prospects 94
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7. The role of the secretariat: building the protocol tree 97
Choice of forum for negotiations: UNECE 97
Setting up cooperative schemes for monitoring, science and policy development 99
Reports, information exchange and transparency 103
Prominent methods of work 107
Innovative approaches 109
Further considerations for the future 114
8. Compliance and consensus 119
Operation of compliance review under the Convention 119
Some technical aspects of compliance review 125
Decision-making under the Convention 129
9. Public participation and the role of NGOs 133
The role and views of environmental organizations 133
An industry view 142
10. Blue Skies Forever 149
Gothenburg a turning point 149
The Convention and the European Union 152
Developments 154
Further needs 157
Challenges 161
Bright sky 165
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