The 1999 Gothenburg Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone (known as the Multi-effect Protocol or the Gothenburg Protocol) is a multi-

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effect, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

protocol designed to reduce acidification,

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

and

ground-level ozone Ground-level ozone (), also known as surface-level ozone and tropospheric ozone, is a trace gas in the troposphere (the lowest level of the atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere), with an average concentration of 20–30 parts per billion by vo ...

by setting emissions ceilings for

sulphur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...

nitrogen oxides In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tr ...

volatile organic compounds Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to house mold, upholstered furniture, arts and crafts sup ...

and

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

to be met by 2010. As of August 2014, the Protocol had been ratified by 26 parties, which includes 25 states and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. The Protocol is part of the

Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution The Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, often abbreviated as Air Convention or CLRTAP, is intended to protect the human environment against air pollution and to gradually reduce and prevent air pollution, including long-range ...

. The Convention is an international agreement to protect human health and the natural environment from

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

by control and reduction of air pollution, including long-range transboundary air pollution. The geographic scope of the Protocol includes Europe, North America and countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia ( EECCA). On May 4, 2012, at a meeting at the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside ...

, the Parties to the Gothenburg Protocol agreed on a substantial number of revisions, most important are the inclusion of commitments of the Parties to further reduce their emissions until 2020. These amendments now need to be

ratified Ratification is a principal's legal confirmation of an act of its agent. In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usuall ...

by Parties in order to make them binding.

Purpose and history

Because pollutants can be carried many hundreds of kilometres by winds, pollutants emitted in one country may be deposited in other countries. Deposition of pollutants in a country can far exceed the amount of such pollution produced domestically due to pollution arriving from one or more

upwind In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...

countries. In 1976, the environment ministers from the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

proposed a European convention on transboundary air pollution that emphasized sulphur compounds (Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP)). After negotiations, 34 countries and the European Commission signed this Convention in 1979 in Geneva. The convention came into force in 1983, and has now been ratified by 47 European countries, two

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

countries (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. The CLRTAP now includes eight protocols that identify specific obligations to be taken by Parties. The Gothenburg Protocol was signed on 30 November 1999 in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, to support the CLRTAP. The Gothenburg Protocol entered into force on 17 May 2005.

Protocol contents

Protocol elements

The following are the main provisions of the Protocol: * Annex 1 - Critical loads and levels * Annex 2 - Maximum allowable emissions (emission ceilings) are adopted for 2010 fo
sulphurnitrogen oxides
(NO_x)
Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOCs) an
ammonia
(NH₃). The selection of the specific emission levels (in tons/year) were based on the predicted effects of the pollutants and the pollutant control options and costs. Emission limits are set for each participating country. Thos
countries participating in the Protocol
("the Parties") with significant emission levels of the most harmful pollutants and whose emissions are relatively cheap to reduce must make larger emission reductions. Following the revision of the Gothenburg Protocol, to which the Parties agreed in May 2012, Annex 2 will now also contain reduction commitments, expressed as a percentage reduction compared to 2005 emission levels, that Parties should meet in 2020. * Annexes 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 list 'limit values' for specific emission sources, such as for combustion plants,

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transm ...

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

production or

dry cleaning Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent (usually non-polar, as opposed to water which is a Solvent#Solvent classifications, polar ...

. Best available techniques are required to control emissions. With the exception of Annex 9, all the emission limit values specified were also updated in 2012 by the Parties. ** Annex 4 is for sulphur from stationary sources ** Annex 5 is for nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from stationary sources ** Annex 6 is for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from stationary sources **Annex 8 is for fuels and new mobile sources **Annex 9 is for ammonia (NH₃) from agricultural sources Guidance documents adopted together with the Protocol provide a range of abatement techniques and economic instruments for the reduction of emissions. Among the specific emission sources, the Protocol establishes NO_x emission limits for large stationary engines. Emission limits for new stationary sources should be enforced within one year after the date of entry into force of the Protocol for the party in question. * Maximum sulfur content is specified for gas oil

fuels A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

(other than fuels used in vehicles) at 0.2% effective by July 2000 and 0.1% by January 2008. The details of the Protocol are identified in a series of Annexes that address specific pollutants and emission source sectors (e.g. Annex V: "Limit values for emissions of nitrogen oxides from stationary sources"). The Annexes typically allow Canada and the United States to participate with different commitments than other Parties to the Protocol. This is due to the different regulatory nature of Canada and the United States versus most European countries.

Implementation and results

In the EU, the Gothenburg protocol is implemented through the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) directive. Of all the countries that ratified the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol, most are expected to meet their obligations. Progress towards reducing sulphur emissions was greater than the Protocol commitments due to a widespread European shift from

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

as an industrial fuel in the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the acidification of forests and lakes was halted in large parts of Europe. Reduction of NO_x emissions from traffic has less than originally expected. The Protocol required only modest ammonia emission reductions and therefore in most parts of Europe, excess nitrogen deposition will be reduced only by a small percentage. It is predicted that the implementation of the Protocol in Europe will reduce sulphur emissions there by at least 63%, NO_x emissions by 41%, VOC emissions by 40% and ammonia emissions by 17% compared to levels in 1990. In addition, Protocol implementation in Europe will: * reduce the area of excessive acidification from 93 million hectares in 1990 to 15 million hectares; * reduce the area of excessive eutrophication from 165 million hectares in 1990 to 108 million hectares, and; * reduce the number of days with excessive ozone levels by 50%. As a result, it is estimated that human 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. In addition, there will be approximately 47,500 fewer premature deaths resulting from ozone and particulate matter in the air. Furthermore, the amount of

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

exposed to excessive ozone levels will be reduced by 44% from 1990 levels. However, for large parts of Europe, human exposure to particulate matter and ozone will remain higher than recommended by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. In the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

, the Po-area,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, the health risks will remain higher than for the rest of Europe. The

East European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountains, and i ...

countries that did not ratify the Protocol are expected to suffer from increasing air pollution. Because of the great potential for low-cost emission reduction measures in this region, increased related policy efforts are underway for countries such as Russia and Ukraine. Abatement of emissions from

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

and ambitious climate policy measures, offers possibilities to reduce air pollution in EU countries at relatively low costs. Additional concerns include the negative effects from the combustion of biomass and biodiesel on air quality/

Revisions of the Gothenburg Protocol

In December 2007, efforts began to revise the Gothenburg Protocol. These revisions were concluded at a meeting of the Parties to the Protocol in Geneva in May 2012. The Parties agreed to include more stringent emission reduction commitments for 2020, including reduction targets for

particulate matter Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defin ...

(PM). Subsequently, the technical annexes were also amended to update them with improved emission limit values. The protocol now also includes, as the first international agreement between countries, measures addressing short-lived climate forcers, such as

black carbon Black carbon (BC) is the light-absorbing refractory form of Chemical_element, elemental carbon remaining after pyrolysis (e.g., charcoal) or produced by incomplete combustion (e.g., soot). Tihomir Novakov originated the term black carbon in ...

. The work to revise the Protocol was coordinated by th
Working Group on Strategies and Review
and supported by varies technical groups, such as th

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

CLRTAP text (pdf)

Summary of Gothenburg Protocol

NO_x Emission Limits From New Stationary Engines
Air pollution Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Environmental treaties Treaties concluded in 1999 Treaties entered into force in 2005 Treaties of Austria Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Finland Treaties of Denmark Treaties of France Treaties of Germany Treaties of Hungary Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of Norway Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Romania Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Spain Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties entered into by the European Union Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of the United States 1999 in Sweden 2005 in the environment United Nations Economic Commission for Europe treaties