Week 8 LRTAP

PS536, Global Environmental Law and Policy 

Spring Semester 2008

Session Outline - Week 8 

Transboundary Pollution and the LRTAP Regime

I.  Observations about the Atmosphere 

• very shallow relative to the diameter of the earth

• has changed considerably over its 5 billion year history

• trace gases significantly moderate the flow of energy to and from the earth

• affects and is effected by other parts of the earth system

• humanity has evolved to the point where it can significantly alter atmospheric processes

II.   Atmospheric Regimes

-atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons

• •                     -transboundary air pollution (primarily in Europe and North America) 

  •                             

  •                     -depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer

  •                     -climate change

III.   The Nature of Acid Forming Air Pollutants and Their Transport

                     (see acid rain")

IV.  Regions with transboundary air pollution problems

• Europe   (map)    

 History of London Smogs   (dating back to the 13th century)

Studies of Robert Angus Smith (mid-19th century)

Oden's allegations of "insidious chemical warfare"  (late 1960s)   

OECD studies of the transport of air pollutants in Europe  (1970s)

•          North America    (map)    

•         East Asia       (map)

•         Indian Ocean    (large sooty cloud) 

•           Transoceanic Flows    (map)

•         Arctic haze   (map)

IV.  Evolution of the LRTAP Regime

• Stockholm Conference  (1972)

• Helsinki Accord  (1975)

• Brezhnev Initiative

• Creation of EMEP (1977)   -  European Monitoring Network

• Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution  (1979) - negotiated in the UN Economic Commission for Europe

       (ratifications)

• Waldsterben in Central Europe

• Stockholm Conference on Acidification  (1982)

V.  Protocols that Supplement the 1979 LRTAP Agreement 

• Sulfur Protocol  (1985)   -  (ratifications)

                30% reduction by 1993 (from 1980 levels) 

• Nitrogen Protocol  (1988)   - (ratifications)

                Emissions returned to 1987 levels by 1994 

• VOC Protocol  (1991)  - (ratifications)

            30% reduction by 1999   (using a year between 1984 and 1990 as a base)

• Revised Sulphur Protocol  (1994)  -  (ratifications)

  •   

  • based on concept of critical load (enter the site, then click on "acid rain" and then on "critical load") - amount of acid deposition a specific region can absorb without serious environmental damage   (map of critical loads in Europe)

    • excessive deposition - amount of acid deposition in a region beyond its critical load

                    Selected Specific Commitments  (from 1980 levels by 2000):

                                Germany  (-83%) 

                                Austria  (-80%) 

                                United Kingdom  (-50%) 

                                Russia  (-38%) 

                                Greece  (+49%)

• Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication, and Ground Level Ozone (1999)  - (ratifications)

                Individualized national ceilings on

                            sulfur dioxide 

                            nitrogen oxides 

                            volatile organic compounds 

                            ground level ozone 

• Reductions achieved thus far among the European countries      (graphs)

                   Sulfur dioxide -  (down 75 % between 1980 and 2005))

                   Nitrogen Oxides  (down 26% between 1990 and 2005)

                   Volatile organic compounds (down 42% between 1990 and 2005) 

VI.  North American LRTAP Regime 

            Map of North America

Environment Canada Fact sheet

• Boundary Waters Treaty  (1909)

• Trail Smelter Case  (1941)

• Great Lakes Quality Agreements  (1972, 1978)

• Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Transboundary Air Pollution  (1980)

• Report of Special Envoys  (1986)

  • US-Canadian Agreement on Air Quality  (1991)

VII.        Global Emission Trends