Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution

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The Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, LRTAP) is an international treaty for air pollution control . The Convention was concluded in Geneva on November 13, 1979 and entered into force on March 16, 1983. It is also called the Geneva Air Quality Agreement , LRTAP (Convention on L ong- R ange T ransboundary A ir P ollution), Geneva Convention or Geneva Convention , provided there is no risk of confusion with the Geneva Conventions of Martial Law.

The agreement was concluded between European states, the USA and Canada and the Soviet Union and is still valid in this sphere of activity. There are currently 51 contracting parties. Compliance is monitored by the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). So far, eight protocols have been drawn up on the basis of the Geneva Convention. These are:

The Gothenburg Multicomponent
Protocol and its predecessor agreements
  • the Helsinki Protocol to reduce sulfur emissions and their cross-border material flows by at least 30 percent (adopted in 1985, entered into force on September 2, 1987; the expanded Oslo Protocol was adopted in 1994 and came into force on August 5, 1998)
  • the Montreal Protocol for the Reduction of Ozone-Harmful Chlorofluorocarbons (adopted September 16, 1987, in force since January 1, 1989).
  • the Sofia Protocol for the control of nitrogen oxide emissions or their cross-border material flows (adopted in 1988, entered into force on February 14, 1991)
  • the Geneva Protocol on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) (adopted in 1991, entered into force on September 29, 1997)
  • the Aarhus Protocol on Heavy Metals (adopted in 1998, entered into force on December 29, 2003)
  • the Aarhus Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) (adopted in 1998, entered into force on October 23, 2003)
  • the Göteborg Protocol (multicomponent protocol) to prevent acidification and eutrophication as well as the formation of ground-level ozone (adopted in 1999, entered into force on May 17, 2005, tightened in 2012)

The Göteborg Protocol sets limits for the annual emissions of the regulated pollutants (SO 2 , NO x , NH 3 and VOC) for the signatory states (practically all European states as well as the USA and Canada ) for the year 2010 (reference year for the percentage reduction: 1990 ) firmly:

Country-specific limit values ​​for annual emissions according to the Gothenburg Protocol, which had to be achieved by 2010
country Sulfur dioxide Nitrogen oxides ammonia VOC
Germany 520 kt (−90%) 1,051 kt (−60%) 550 kt (−28%) 995 kt (−69%)
Austria 91 kt (−57%) 107 kt (−45%) 66 kt (−19%) 159 kt (−55%)
Switzerland 43 kt (−40%) 79 kt (−52%) 63 kt (−13%) 144 kt (−51%)
Europe 16,436 kt (-75%) 6,671 kt (−49%) 3,129 kt (−15%) 6,600 kt (−57%)

kt = 1,000 tons

In Germany, the energy-related nitrogen oxide concentrations fell from 2,861 kt in 1990 to 1,442 kt in 2005. The sulfur dioxide concentration decreased from 5,350 kt in 1990 to 560 kt in 2005. Carbon monoxide emissions fell from 12,145 kt in 1990 to 4,035 kt in the year 2005.

While previous protocols only considered a single pollutant, the effects of sulfur and nitrogen compounds as well as volatile organic compounds (VOC) and ozone are considered in conjunction. The Göteborg Protocol is characterized by its cross-problem approach and is therefore also referred to as a multi-effect or multi-component protocol. Three problem areas should be defused:

  • the formation of ground-level ozone through the emission reduction of ozone precursors (nitrogen oxides, NO x and volatile organic compounds, VOC),
  • the acidification of soils and waters by reducing emissions of substances that contribute to the acidification of precipitation (SO 2 , NO x )
  • eutrophication (nutrient enrichment) through atmospheric nitrogen input (NO x , NH 3 )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ UNECE 1979 Geneva Convention
  2. ^ H. Koschel, KL Brockmann, TFN Schmidt, M. Stronzik, H. Bergmann: Tradable SO2 certificates for Europe . Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg 1998, p. 167 ff.
  3. ↑ UNECE 1985 Helsinki Protocol , 1994 Oslo Protocol
  4. ↑ UNECE 1988 Sofia Protocol
  5. ↑ UNECE 1991 Geneva Protocol
  6. ↑ UNECE 1998 Aarhus Heavy Metals Protocol
  7. ↑ UNECE 1998 Aarhus POP Protocol
  8. ↑ Multi-effect Protocol in the English language Wikipedia
  9. ↑ Parties to UNECE Air Pollution Convention approve new emission reduction commitments for main air pollutants by 2020 . UNECE, press release of May 4, 2012
  10. ↑ UNECE 1999 Gothenburg Protocol