The Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) is the main international framework for cooperation and measures to limit, gradually reduce and prevent air pollution. It includes 51 countries from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region, such as the EU member states, Canada, the United States, Russia, and several countries in Central Asia. Since its signing in 1979, the LRTAP convention has been extended by eight specific protocols, including the Gothenburg Protocol. By Cornelia Tietz, former manager ESIG.

The Gothenburg Protocol was signed on 30 November 1999, in Gothenburg, Sweden, and came into effect on 17 May 2005. Its purpose is to stop acidification, eutrophication, and ground-level ozone by setting emissions ceilings for four air pollutants: sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides (NOX), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), and ammonia.

It is worth noting that not all parties or countries of the LTRAP convention are part of the Gothenburg Protocol. In 2012, the protocol was amended, and new national emission reduction commitments for 2020 onward were established for the four original pollutants, and particulate matter was added. This revised Gothenburg Protocol came into effect in 2019.

The Gothenburg protocol is implemented through the National Emission Ceilings (NEC) directive in Europe, hence the outcome of the ongoing review process will be reflected in the upcoming review of this EU law.

Review Process

Being an international convention, the review process is quite formal and complex. Key steps are:

In line with the legal requirements from the Gothenburg Protocol, the Executive Body of the LRTAP convention in its 39th session in December 2019, initiated the review of the amended protocol through different studies and investigations.

The review report was accepted three years later, in the 42nd session of the Executive Body in December 2022, and the advanced version of the meeting report has been published end of March 2023 ^[1].

To address the conclusions of the review, an adhoc group of experts was formed to develop adequate policy options which were presented to 43rd session of the Executive Body in December 2023.

The Executive Body decided to revise the Protocol to address the conclusion. The revision process will, amongst other issues, look at new emission reduction commitments, a potential revision of the technical annexes and whether and how to address methane emissions.

The latter is needed as the review process revealed that methane emissions are the main driver of increasing background ozone andthat the projectedexpected increase in global methane emissions will offset the reductions of NOx and NMVOC emissions – the precursors of ground-level ozone.

Zoom in: Solvents VOC emissions

The latest emission data shows that while NMVOC emissions have decreased by 43？% in the EU (EU27？+？UK？+？EFTA), 23？% in the USA, and 27？% in Canada, there has been an 11？% increase in the ECCA (Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia) countries. Despite the reductions, it is expected that some parties will not meet the NMVOC emission targets without additional measures.

Regarding NMVOCs, some parties need to take additional actions in terms of road transport, solvent use, and domestic wood burning to address the issue. It also needs to be noted that even with full implementation of the current protocol, background levels of ozone in the ECE region are expected to continue to increase due to methane, NOX and NMVOC emissions outside the ECE region.

The Gothenburg Protocol has several annexes, most of them of technical nature. All were subject to the review process as well and might be changed ^[2].

Annex VI examines the limit values for emissions of VOC from stationary sources – and it is proposed to adapt the emission limit values (ELVs) from the recently published Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document on Surface Treatment Using Organic Solvents including Preservation of Wood and Wood Products with Chemicals (STS BREF) ^[3] and the associated decisions.

Annex XI deals with solvents in products and, next to shorter sections on the US and Canada, currently mirrors the EU “Paint Directive” ^[4].The review process revealed that very little information is available to enable the update of emission limit values (ELVs). Contacts with the coating industry confirmed that even current limit values are quite challenging. No other product groups have been discussed in this context.

ESIG’s work within the LTRAP convention

The European Solvents Industry Group (ESIG) is an observer to the governing bodies of the LRTAP convention and an active contributor to several taskforces.

ESIG provides regular updates on BATs related to the STS BREF in the Taskforce Technical and Economic Issues (TFTEI) and supports the participation of experts from ECCA countries ^[5].

ESIG’s Solvents VOC inventories are part of the EEA/EMEP guidebook, which falls under the remits of the Taskforce of Emission Inventories and Projections (TFEIP) [6].In the recent TFEIP session that took part in April 2023, ESIG provided an update on the latest improvements to the methodology.

In 2022, ESIG also contributed to the intensive ozone measurement period organised by the Task Force Measurement and Modelling (TFMM). First results will be published this year and a new campaign is being planned to which ESIG is committed to contribute financially again. 

References

[1]https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/Advance%20version_ECE_EB.AIR_150.pdf

[2]https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/TFTEI%20review%20of%20annexes%20to%20the%20Gothenburg%20Protocol.pdf

[3]https://eippcb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reference/surface-treatment-using-organic-solvents-including-wood-and-wood-products-preservationt

[4]Directive 2004/42/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on the limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the use of organic solvents in certain paints and varnishes and vehicle refinishing products and amending Directive 1999/13/EC

[5]https://tftei.citepa.org/en/

[6]www.tfeip-secretariat.org/