22003A0717(01)

22003A0717(01) 22003A0717(01) Protocol to the 1979 Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution to abate acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone Official Journal L 179 , 17/07/2003 P. 0003 - 0054  Dates: of document:   30/11/1999 of effect:   00/00/0000; Entry into force See Art 17 of signature:   30/11/1999; GEBORG end of validity:   99/99/9999 Authentic language: English ; French ; Russian Author: United Nations Organisation Subject matter: Environment ; External relations Directory code: 11306000 ; 15104000 ; 15102030 EUROVOC descriptor: atmospheric pollution ; stratospheric pollution ; transfrontier pollution ; acidification ; eutrophication ; ozone ; pollution control measures ; accession to an agreement ; international convention ; protocol Legal basis: 102E175................... Adoption 102E300-P2L1FR1........... Adoption 102E300-P3L1.............. Adoption Instruments cited: 293A0621(01).............. 298A1203(02).............. Amendment to: 279A1113(01)...... Amendment..... Addition PROT from DATEFF Amended by: Adopted by.... 303D0507.......... ANNEX PROTOCOL TO THE 1979 CONVENTION ON LONG-RANGE TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION TO ABATE ACIDIFICATION, EUTROPHICATION AND GROUND-LEVEL OZONE THE PARTIES, DETERMINED to implement the Conve ntion on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, AWARE that nitrogen oxides, sulphur, volatile organic compounds and reduced nitrogen compounds have been associated with adverse effects on human health and the environment, CONCERNED that critical loads of acidification, critical loads of nutrient nitrogen and critical levels of ozone for human health and vegetation are still exceeded in many areas of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's region, CONCERNED ALSO that emitted nitrogen oxides, sulphur and volatile organic compounds, as well as secondary pollutants such as ozone and the reaction products of ammonia, are transported in the atmosphere over long distances and may have adverse transboundary effects, RECOGNISING that emissions from Parties within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's region contribute to air pollution on the hemispheric and global scales, and recognising the potential for transport between continents and the need for further study with regard to that potential, RECOGNISING ALSO that Canada and the United States of America are bilaterally negotiating reductions of emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds to address the transboundary ozone effect, RECOGNISING FURTHERMORE that Canada will undertake further reductions of emissions of sulphur by 2010 through the implementation of the Canada-wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000, and that the United States is committed to the implementation of a nitrogen oxides reduction programme in the eastern United States and to the reduction in emissions necessary to meet its national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter, RESOLVED to apply a multi-effect, multi-pollutant approach to preventing or minimising the excess of critical loads and levels, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the emissions from certain existing activities and installations responsible for present air pollution levels and the development of future activities and installations, AWARE that techniques and management practices are available to reduce emissions of these substances, RESOLVED to take measures to anticipate, prevent or minimise emissions of these substances, taking into account the application of the precautionary approach as set forth in principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, REAFFIRMING that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, CONSCIOUS of the need for a cost-effective regional approach to combating air pollution that takes account of the variations in effects and abatement costs between countries, NOTING the important contribution of the private and non-governmental sectors to knowledge of the effects associated with these substances and available abatement techniques, and their role in assisting in the reduction of emissions to the atmosphere, BEARING IN MIND that measures taken to reduce emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international competition and trade, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the best available scientific and technical knowledge and data on emissions, atmospheric processes and effects on human health and the environment of these substances, as well as on abatement costs, and acknowledging the need to improve this knowledge and to continue scientific and technical cooperation to further understanding of these issues, NOTING that pursuant to the Protocol concerning the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or their Transboundary Fluxes, adopted at Sofia on 31 October 1988, and the Protocol concerning the Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or their Transboundary Fluxes, adopted at Geneva on 18 November 1991, there is already provision to control emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, and that the technical Annexes to both those Protocols already contain technical guidance for reducing these emissions, NOTING ALSO that pursuant to the Protocol on Further Reduction of Sulphur Emissions, adopted at Oslo on 14 June 1994, there is already provision to reduce sulphur emissions in order to contribute to the abatement of acid deposition by diminishing the exceedances of critical sulphur depositions, which has been derived from critical loads of acidity according to the contribution of oxidised sulphur compounds to the total acid deposition in 1990, NOTING FURTHERMORE that this Protocol is the first agreement under the Convention to deal specifically with reduced nitrogen compounds, BEARING IN MIND that reducing the emissions of these substances may provide additional benefits for the control of other pollutants, including in particular transboundary secondary particulate aerosols, which contribute to human health effects associated with exposure to airborne particulates, BEARING IN MIND ALSO the need to avoid, in so far as possible, taking measures for the achievement of the objectives of this Protocol that aggravate other health and environment-related problems, NOTING that measures taken to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia should involve consideration of the full biogeochemical nitrogen cycle and, so far as possible, not increase emissions of reactive nitrogen including nitrous oxide which could aggravate other nitrogen-related problems, AWARE that methane and carbon monoxide emitted by human activities contribute, in the presence of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, to the formation of tropospheric ozone, and AWARE ALSO of the commitments that Parties have assumed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 Definitions For the purposes of the present Protocol, 1. "Convention" means the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, adopted at Geneva on 13 November 1979; 2. "EMEP" means the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe; 3. "Executive Body" means the Executive Body for the Convention constituted under Article 10 (1) of the Convention; 4. "Commission" means the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; 5. "Parties" means, unless the context otherwise requires, the Parties to the present Protocol; 6. "Geographical scope of EMEP" means the area defined in Article 1 (4) of the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on Long-term Financing of the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP), adopted at Geneva on 28 September 1984; 7. "Emission" means the release of a substance from a point or diffuse source into the atmosphere; 8. "Nitrogen oxides" means nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, expressed as nitrogen dioxide (NO2); 9. "Reduced nitrogen compounds" means ammonia and its reaction products; 10. "Sulphur" means all sulphur compounds, expressed as sulphur dioxide (SO2); 11. "Volatile organic compounds", or "VOCs", means, unless otherwise specified, all organic compounds of an anthropogenic nature, other than methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by reaction with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight; 12. "Critical load" means a quantitative estimate of an exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur, according to present knowledge; 13. "Critical levels" means concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere above which direct adverse effects on receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems or materials, may occur, according to present knowledge; 14. "Pollutant emissions management area", or "PEMA", means an area designated in Annex III under the conditions laid down in Article 3 (9); 15. "Stationary source" means any fixed building, structure, facility, installation or equipment that emits or may emit sulphur, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds or ammonia directly or indirectly into the atmosphere; 16. "New stationary source" means any stationary source of which the construction or substantial modification is commenced after the expiry of one year from the date of entry into force of the present Protocol. It shall be a matter for the competent national authorities to decide whether a modification is substantial or not, taking into account such factors as the environmental benefits of the modification. Article 2 Objective The objective of the present Protocol is to control and reduce emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds that are caused by anthropogenic activities and are likely to cause adverse effects on human health, natural ecosystems, materials and crops, due to acidification, eutrophication or ground-level ozone as a result of long-range transboundary atmospheric transport, and to ensure, as far as possible, that in the long term and in a step-by-step approach, taking into account advances in scientific knowledge, atmospheric depositions or concentrations do not exceed: (a) for Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP and Canada, the critical loads of acidity, as described in Annex I; (b) for Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP, the critical loads of nutrient nitrogen, as described in Annex I; (c) for ozone: (i) for Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP, the critical levels of ozone, as given in Annex I; (ii) for Canada, the Canada-wide Standard for ozone; (iii) for the United States of America, the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. Article 3 Basic obligations 1. Each Party having an emission ceiling in any table in Annex II shall reduce and maintain the reduction in its annual emissions in accordance with that ceiling and the timescales specified in that Annex. Each Party shall, as a minimum, control its annual emissions of polluting compounds in accordance with the obligations in Annex II. 2. Each Party shall apply the limit values specified in Annexes IV, V and VI to each new stationary source within a stationary source category as identified in those Annexes, no later than the timescales specified in Annex VII. As an alternative, a Party may apply different emission reduction strategies that achieve equivalent overall emission levels for all source categories together. 3. Each Party shall, in so far as it is technically and economically feasible and taking into consideration the costs and advantages, apply the limit values specified in Annexes IV, V and VI to each existing stationary source within a stationary source category as identified in those Annexes, no later than the timescales specified in Annex VII. As an alternative, a Party may apply different emission reduction strategies that achieve equivalent overall emission levels for all source categories together or, for Parties outside the geographical scope of EMEP, that are necessary to achieve national or regional goals for acidification abatement and to meet national air quality standards. 4. Limit values for new and existing boilers and process heaters with a rated thermal input exceeding 50 MWth and new heavy-duty vehicles shall be evaluated by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body with a view to amending Annexes IV, V and VIII no later than two years after the date of entry into force of the present Protocol. 5. Each Party shall apply the limit values for the fuels and new mobile sources identified in Annex VIII, no later than the timescales specified in Annex VII. 6. Each Party should apply the best available techniques to mobile sources and to each new or existing stationary source, taking into account guidance documents I to V adopted by the Executive Body at its seventeenth session (Decision 1999/1) and any amendments thereto. 7. Each Party shall take appropriate measures based, inter alia, on scientific and economic criteria to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds associated with the use of products not included in Annexes VI or VIII. The Parties shall, no later than at the second session of the Executive Body after the entry into force of the present Protocol, consider with a view to adopting an annex on products, including criteria for the selection of such products, limit values for the volatile organic compound content of products not included in Annex VI or VIII, as well as timescales for the application of the limit values. 8. Each Party shall, subject to paragraph (10): (a) apply, as a minimum, the ammonia control measures specified in Annex IX; (b) apply, where it considers it appropriate, the best available techniques for preventing and reducing ammonia emissions, as listed in guidance document V adopted by the Executive Body at its seventeenth session (Decision 1999/1) and any amendments thereto. 9. Paragraph (10) shall apply to any Party: (a) whose total land area is greater than 2 million square kilometres; (b) whose annual emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and/or volatile organic compounds contributing to acidification, eutrophication or ozone formation in areas under the jurisdiction of one or more other Parties originate predominantly from within an area under its jurisdiction that is listed as a PEMA in Annex III, and which has presented documentation in accordance with subparagraph (c) to this effect; (c) which has submitted upon signature, ratification, acceptance or approval of, or accession to, the present Protocol a description of the geographical scope of one or more PEMAs for one or more pollutants, with supporting documentation, for inclusion in Annex III; (d) which has specified upon signature, ratification, acceptance or approval of, or accession to, the present Protocol its intention to act in accordance with this paragraph. 10. A Party to which this paragraph applies shall: (a) if within the geographical scope of EMEP, be required to comply with the provisions of this Article and Annex II only within the relevant PEMA for each pollutant for which a PEMA within its jurisdiction is included in Annex III; or (b) if not within the geographical scope of EMEP, be required to comply with the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6) and (7) and Annex II, only within the relevant PEMA for each pollutant (nitrogen oxides, sulphur and/or volatile organic compounds) for which a PEMA within its jurisdiction is included in Annex III, and shall not be required to comply with paragraph (8) anywhere within its jurisdiction. 11. Canada and the United States of America shall, upon their ratification, acceptance or approval of, or accession to, the present Protocol, submit to the Executive Body their respective emission reduction commitments with respect to sulphur, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds for automatic incorporation into Annex II. 12. The Parties shall, subject to the outcome of the first review provided for under Article 10 (2), and no later than one year after completion of that review, commence negotiations on further obligations to reduce emissions. Article 4 Exchange of information and technology 1. Each Party shall, in a manner consistent with its laws, regulations and practices and in accordance with its obligations in the present Protocol, create favourable conditions to facilitate the exchange of information, technologies and techniques, with the aim of reducing emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds by promoting inter alia: 1. the development and updating of databases on best available techniques, including those that increase energy efficiency, low-emission burners and good environmental practice in agriculture; 2. the exchange of information and experience in the development of less polluting transport systems; 3. direct industrial contacts and cooperation, including joint ventures; 4. the provision of technical assistance. 2. In promoting the activities specified in paragraph (1), each Party shall create favourable conditions for the facilitation of contacts and cooperation among appropriate organisations and individuals in the private and public sectors that are capable of providing technology, design and engineering services, equipment or finance. Article 5 Public awareness 1. Each Party shall, in a manner consistent with its laws, regulations and practices, promote the provision of information to the general public, including information on: (a) national annual emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds and progress towards compliance with the national emission ceilings or other obligations referred to in Article 3; (b) depositions and concentrations of the relevant pollutants and, where applicable, these depositions and concentrations in relation to critical loads and levels referred to in Article 2; (c) levels of tropospheric ozone; (d) strategies and measures applied or to be applied to reduce air pollution problems dealt with in the present Protocol and set out in Article 6. 2. Furthermore, each Party may make information widely available to the public with a view to minimising emissions, including information on: (a) less polluting fuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency, including their use in transport; (b) volatile organic compounds in products, including labelling; (c) management options for wastes containing volatile organic compounds that are generated by the public; (d) good agricultural practices to reduce emissions of ammonia; (e) health and environmental effects associated with the pollutants covered by the present Protocol; (f) steps which individuals and industries may take to help reduce emissions of the pollutants covered by the present Protocol. Article 6 Strategies, policies, programmes, measures and information 1. Each Party shall, as necessary and on the basis of sound scientific and economic criteria, in order to facilitate the implementation of its obligations under Article 3: (a) adopt supporting strategies, policies and programmes without undue delay after the present Protocol enters into force for it; (b) apply measures to control and reduce its emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds; (c) apply measures to encourage the increase of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy; (d) apply measures to decrease the use of polluting fuels; (e) develop and introduce less polluting transport systems and promote traffic management systems to reduce overall emissions from road traffic; (f) apply measures to encourage the development and introduction of low-polluting processes and products, taking into account guidance documents I to V adopted by the Executive Body at its seventeenth session (Decision 1999/1) and any amendments thereto; (g) encourage the implementation of management programmes to reduce emissions, including voluntary programmes, and the use of economic instruments, taking into account guidance document VI adopted by the Executive Body at its seventeenth session (Decision 1999/1) and any amendments thereto; (h) implement and further elaborate policies and measures in accordance with its national circumstances, such as the progressive reduction or phasing-out of market imperfections, fiscal incentives, tax and duty exemptions and subsidies in all sectors that emit sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds which run counter to the objective of the Protocol, and apply market instruments; (i) apply measures, where cost-effective, to reduce emissions from waste products containing volatile organic compounds. 2. Each Party shall collect and maintain information on: (a) actual levels of emissions of sulphur, nitrogen compounds and volatile organic compounds, and of ambient concentrations and depositions of these compounds and ozone, taking into account, for those Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP, the work plan of EMEP; (b) the effects of ambient concentrations and of the deposition of sulphur, nitrogen compounds, volatile organic compounds and ozone on human health, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and materials. 3. Any Party may take more stringent measures than those required by the present Protocol. Article 7 Reporting 1. Subject to its laws and regulations and in accordance with its obligations under the present Protocol: (a) each Party shall report, through the Executive Secretary of the Commission, to the Executive Body, on a periodic basis as determined by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body, information on the measures that it has taken to implement the present Protocol. Moreover: (i) where a Party applies different emission-reduction strategies under Article 3 (2) and (3), it shall document the strategies applied and its compliance with the requirements of those paragraphs; (ii) where a Party judges certain limit values, as specified in accordance with Article 3 (3), not to be technically and economically feasible, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, it shall report and justify this; (b) each Party within the geographical scope of EMEP shall report, through the Executive Secretary of the Commission, to EMEP, on a periodic basis to be determined by the Steering Body of EMEP and approved by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body, the following information: (i) levels of emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds using, as a minimum, the methodologies and the temporal and spatial resolution specified by the Steering Body of EMEP; (ii) levels of emissions of each substance in the reference year (1990) using the same methodologies and temporal and spatial resolution; (iii) data on projected emissions and current reduction plans; (iv) where it deems it appropriate, any exceptional circumstances justifying emissions that are temporarily higher than the ceilings established for it for one or more pollutants; (c) parties in areas outside the geographical scope of EMEP shall make available information similar to that specified in subparagraph (b), if requested to do so by the Executive Body. 2. The information to be reported in accordance with paragraph (1)(a) shall be in conformity with a decision regarding format and content to be adopted by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body. The terms of this decision shall be reviewed as necessary to identify any additional elements regarding the format or the content of the information that is to be included in the reports. 3. In good time before each annual session of the Executive Body, EMEP shall provide information on: (a) ambient concentrations and depositions of sulphur and nitrogen compounds as well as, where available, ambient concentrations of volatile organic compounds and ozone; (b) calculations of sulphur and oxidised and reduced-nitrogen budgets and relevant information on the long-range transport of ozone and its precursors. Parties in areas outside the geographical scope of EMEP shall make available similar information if requested to do so by the Executive Body. 4. The Executive Body shall, in accordance with Article 10 (2)(b), of the Convention, arrange for the preparation of information on the effects of depositions of sulphur and nitrogen compounds and concentrations of ozone. 5. The Parties shall, at sessions of the Executive Body, arrange for the preparation, at regular intervals, of revised information on calculated and internationally optimised allocations of emission reductions for the States within the geographical scope of EMEP, using integrated assessment models, including atmospheric transport models, with a view to reducing further, for the purposes of Article 3 (1), the difference between actual depositions of sulphur and nitrogen compounds and critical load values as well as the difference between actual ozone concentrations and the critical levels of ozone specified in Annex I, or such alternative assessment methods as approved by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body. Article 8 Research, development and monitoring The Parties shall encourage research, development, monitoring and cooperation related to: (a) the international harmonisation of methods for the calculation and assessment of the adverse effects associated with the substances addressed by the present Protocol for use in establishing critical loads and critical levels and, as appropriate, the elaboration of procedures for such harmonisation; (b) the improvement of emission databases, in particular those on ammonia and volatile organic compounds; (c) the improvement of monitoring techniques and systems and of the modelling of transport, concentrations and depositions of sulphur, nitrogen compounds and volatile organic compounds, as well as of the formation of ozone and secondary particulate matter; (d) the improvement of the scientific understanding of the long-term fate of emissions and their impact on the hemispheric background concentrations of sulphur, nitrogen, volatile organic compounds, ozone and particulate matter, focusing, in particular, on the chemistry of the free troposphere and the potential for intercontinental flow of pollutants; (e) the further elaboration of an overall strategy to reduce the adverse effects of acidification, eutrophication and photochemical pollution, including synergisms and combined effects; (f) strategies for the further reduction of emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds based on critical loads and critical levels as well as on technical developments, and the improvement of integrated assessment modelling to calculate internationally optimised allocations of emission reductions taking into account the need to avoid excessive costs for any Party. Special emphasis should be given to emissions from agriculture and transport; (g) the identification of trends over time and the scientific understanding of the wider effects of sulphur, nitrogen and volatile organic compounds and photochemical pollution on human health, including their contribution to concentrations of particulate matter, the environment, in particular acidification and eutrophication, and materials, especially historic and cultural monuments, taking into account the relationship between sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, volatile organic compounds and tropospheric ozone; (h) emission abatement technologies, and technologies and techniques to improve energy efficiency, energy conservation and the use of renewable energy; (i) the efficacy of ammonia control techniques for farms and their impact on local and regional deposition; (j) the management of transport demand and the development and promotion of less polluting modes of transport; (k) the quantification and, where possible, economic evaluation of benefits for the environment and human health resulting from the reduction of emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds; (l) the development of tools for making the methods and results of this work widely applicable and available. Article 9 Compliance Compliance by each Party with its obligations under the present Protocol shall be reviewed regularly. The Implementation Committee established by Decision 1997/2 of the Executive Body at its fifteenth session shall carry out such reviews and report to the Parties at a session of the Executive Body in accordance with the terms of the Annex to that Decision, including any amendments thereto. Article 10 Reviews by the Parties at sessions of the Executive Body 1. The Parties shall, at sessions of the Executive Body, pursuant to Article 10 (2)(a), of the Convention, review the information supplied by the Parties, EMEP and subsidiary bodies of the Executive Body, the data on the effects of concentrations and depositions of sulphur and nitrogen compounds and of photochemical pollution as well as the reports of the Implementation Committee referred to in Article 9. 2. (a) The Parties shall, at sessions of the Executive Body, keep under review the obligations set out in the present Protocol, including: (i) their obligations in relation to their calculated and internationally optimised allocations of emission reductions referred to in Article 7 (5); (ii) the adequacy of the obligations and the progress made towards the achievement of the objective of the present Protocol; (b) Reviews shall take into account the best available scientific information on the effects of acidification, eutrophication and photochemical pollution, including assessments of all relevant health effects, critical levels and loads, the development and refinement of integrated assessment models, technological developments, changing economic conditions, progress made on the databases on emissions and abatement techniques, especially related to ammonia and volatile organic compounds, and the fulfilment of the obligations on emission levels; (c) The procedures, methods and timing for such reviews shall be specified by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body. The first such review shall commence no later than one year after the present Protocol enters into force. Article 11 Settlement of disputes 1. In the event of a dispute between any two or more Parties concerning the interpretation or application of the present Protocol, the parties concerned shall seek a settlement of the dispute through negotiation or any other peaceful means of their own choice. The parties to the dispute shall inform the Executive Body of their dispute. 2. When ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the present Protocol, or at any time thereafter, a Party which is not a regional economic integration organisation may declare in a written instrument submitted to the Depositary that, in respect of any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Protocol, it recognises one or both of the following means of dispute settlement as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any Party accepting the same obligation: (a) submission of the dispute to the International Court of Justice; (b) arbitration in accordance with procedures to be adopted by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body, as soon as practicable, in an annex on arbitration. A Party which is a regional economic integration organisation may make a declaration with like effect in relation to arbitration in accordance with the procedures referred to in subparagraph (b). 3. A declaration made under paragraph (2) shall remain in force until it expires in accordance with its terms or until three months after written notice of its revocation has been deposited with the Depositary. 4. A new declaration, a notice of revocation or the expiry of a declaration shall not in any way affect proceedings pending before the International Court of Justice or the arbitral tribunal, unless the parties to the dispute agree otherwise. 5. Except in a case where the parties to a dispute have accepted the same means of dispute settlement under paragraph (2), if after 12 months following notification by one party to another that a dispute exists between them, the parties concerned have not been able to settle their dispute through the means mentioned in paragraph (1), the dispute shall be submitted, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, to conciliation. 6. For the purpose of paragraph (5), a conciliation commission shall be created. The commission shall be composed of an equal number of members appointed by each party concerned or, where parties in conciliation share the same interest, by the group sharing that interest, and a chairperson chosen jointly by the members so appointed. The commission shall render a recommendatory award, which the parties to the dispute shall consider in good faith. Article 12 Annexes The Annexes to the present Protocol shall form an integral part of the Protocol. Article 13 Amendments and adjustments 1. Any Party may propose amendments to the present Protocol. Any Party to the Convention may propose an adjustment to Annex II to the present Protocol to add to it its name, together with emission levels, emission ceilings and percentage emission reductions. 2. Proposed amendments and adjustments shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Secretary of the Commission, who shall communicate them to all Parties. The Parties shall discuss the proposed amendments and adjustments at the next session of the Executive Body, provided that those proposals have been circulated by the Executive Secretary to the Parties at least 90 days in advance. 3. Amendments to the present Protocol, including amendments to Annexes II to IX, shall be adopted by consensus of the Parties present at a session of the Executive Body, and shall enter into force for the Parties which have accepted them on the 90th day after the date on which two thirds of the Parties have deposited with the Depositary their instruments of acceptance thereof. Amendments shall enter into force for any other Party on the 90th day after the date on which that Party has deposited its instrument of acceptance thereof. 4. Amendments to the Annexes to the present Protocol, other than to the Annexes referred to in paragraph 3, shall be adopted by consensus of the Parties present at a session of the Executive Body. On the expiry of 90 days from the date of its communication to all Parties by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, an amendment to any such Annex shall become effective for those Parties which have not submitted to the Depositary a notification in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (5), provided that at least 16 Parties have not submitted such a notification. 5. Any Party that is unable to approve an amendment to an Annex, other than to an Annex referred to in paragraph (3), shall so notify the Depositary in writing within 90 days from the date of the communication of its adoption. The Depositary shall without delay notify all Parties of any such notification received. A Party may at any time substitute an acceptance for its previous notification and, upon deposit of an instrument of acceptance with the Depositary, the amendment to such an Annex shall become effective for that Party. 6. Adjustments to Annex II shall be adopted by consensus of the Parties present at a session of the Executive Body and shall become effective for all Parties to the present Protocol on the 90th day following the date on which the Executive Secretary of the Commission notifies those Parties in writing of the adoption of the adjustment. Article 14 Signature 1. The present Protocol shall be open for signature at Gothenburg (Sweden) on 30 November and 1 December 1999, then at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 30 May 2000, by States members of the Commission as well as States having consultative status with the Commission, pursuant to paragraph 8 of Economic and Social Council Resolution 36 (IV) of 28 March 1947, and by regional economic integration organisations, constituted by sovereign States members of the Commission, which have competence in respect of the negotiation, conclusion and application of international agreements in matters covered by the Protocol, provided that the States and organisations concerned are Parties to the Convention and are listed in Annex II. 2. In matters within their competence, such regional economic integration organisations shall, on their own behalf, exercise the rights and fulfil the responsibilities which the present Protocol attributes to their Member States. In such cases, the Member States of these organisations shall not be entitled to exercise such rights individually. Article 15 Ratification, acceptance, approval and accession 1. The present Protocol shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by Signatories. 2. The present Protocol shall be open for accession as from 31 May 2000 by the States and organisations that meet the requirements of Article 14 (1). 3. The instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be deposited with the Depositary. Article 16 Depositary The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the Depositary. Article 17 Entry into force 1. The present Protocol shall enter into force on the 90th day following the date on which the 16th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession has been deposited with the Depositary. 2. For each State and organisation that meets the requirements of Article 14 (1), which ratifies, accepts or approves the present Protocol or accedes thereto after the deposit of the 16th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, the Protocol shall enter into force on the 90th day following the date of deposit by such Party of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. Article 18 Withdrawal At any time after five years from the date on which the present Protocol has come into force with respect to a Party, that Party may withdraw from it by giving written notification to the Depositary. Any such withdrawal shall take effect on the 90th day following the date of its receipt by the Depositary, or on such later date as may be specified in the notification of the withdrawal. Article 19 Authentic texts The original of the present Protocol, of which the English, French and Russian texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed the present Protocol. Done at Gothenburg (Sweden), this thirtieth day of November one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. ANNEX I CRITICAL LOADS AND LEVELS I. CRITICAL LOADS OF ACIDITY A. For Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP 1. Critical loads (as defined in Article 1) of acidity for ecosystems are determined in accordance with the Convention's Manual on methodologies and criteria for mapping critical levels/loads and geographical areas where they are exceeded. They are the maximum amount of acidifying deposition an ecosystem can tolerate in the long term without being damaged. Critical loads of acidity in terms of nitrogen take account of nitrogen removal processes within an ecosystem (e.g. uptake by plants). Critical loads of acidity in terms of sulphur do not. A combined sulphur and nitrogen critical load of acidity considers nitrogen only when the nitrogen deposition is greater than the ecosystem nitrogen-removal processes. All critical loads reported by Parties are summarised for use in the integrated assessment modelling employed to provide guidance for setting the emission ceilings in Annex II. B. For Parties in North America 2. For eastern Canada, critical sulphur plus nitrogen loads for forested ecosystems have been determined with scientific methodologies and criteria (1997 Canadian Acid Rain Assessment) similar to those in the Convention's Manual on methodologies and criteria for mapping critical levels/loads and geographical areas where they are exceeded. Eastern Canada critical-load values (as defined in Article 1) of acidity are for sulphate in precipitation expressed in kg/ha/year. Alberta in western Canada, where deposition levels are currently below the environmental limits, has adopted the generic critical-load classification systems used for soils in Europe for potential acidity. Potential acidity is defined by subtracting the total (both wet and dry) deposition of base cations from that of sulphur and nitrogen. In addition to critical loads for potential acidity, Alberta has established target and monitoring loads for managing acidifying emissions. 3. For the United States of America, the effects of acidification are evaluated through an assessment of the sensitivity of ecosystems, the total loading within ecosystems of acidifying compounds and the uncertainty associated with nitrogen-removal processes within ecosystems. 4. These loads and effects are used in integrated assessment modelling and provide guidance for setting the emission ceilings and/or reductions for Canada and the United States of America in Annex II. II. CRITICAL LOADS OF NUTRIENT NITROGEN For Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP 5. Critical loads (as defined in Article 1) of nutrient nitrogen (eutrophication) for ecosystems are determined in accordance with the Convention's Manual on methodologies and criteria for mapping critical levels/loads and geographical areas where they are exceeded. They are the maximum amount of eutrophying nitrogen deposition an ecosystem can tolerate in the long term without being damaged. All critical loads reported by Parties are summarised for use in the integrated assessment modelling employed to provide guidance for setting the emission ceilings in Annex II. III. CRITICAL LEVELS OF OZONE A. For Parties within the geographical scope of EMEP 6. Critical levels (as defined in Article 1) of ozone are determined to protect plants in accordance with the Convention's Manual on methodologies and criteria for mapping critical levels/loads and geographical areas where they are exceeded. They are expressed as a cumulative exposure over a threshold ozone concentration of 40 ppb (parts per billion by volume). This exposure index is referred to as AOT40 (accumulated exposure over a threshold of 40 ppb). The AOT40 is calculated as the sum of the differences between the hourly concentration (in ppb) and 40 ppb for each hour when the concentration exceeds 40 ppb. 7. The long-term critical level of ozone for crops of an AOT40 of 3000 ppb.hours for May to July (used as a typical growing season) and for daylight hours was used to define areas at risk where the critical level is exceeded. A specific reduction of exceedances was targeted in the integrated assessment modelling undertaken for the present Protocol to provide guidance for setting the emission ceilings in Annex II. The long-term critical level of ozone for crops is considered also to protect other plants such as trees and natural vegetation. Further scientific work is under way to develop a more differentiated interpretation of exceedances of critical levels of ozone for vegetation. 8. A critical level of ozone for human health is represented by the WHO Air Quality Guideline level for ozone of 120 >ISO_7>ü>ISO_1>g/m3 as an eight-hour average. In collaboration with the World Health Organisation's Regional Office for Europe (WHO/EURO), a critical level expressed as an AOT60 (accumulated exposure over a threshold of 60 ppb), i.e. 120 >ISO_7>ü>ISO_1>g/m3, calculated over one year, was adopted as a surrogate for the WHO Air Quality Guideline for the purpose of integrated assessment modelling. This was used to define areas at risk where the critical level is exceeded. A specific reduction of these exceedances was targeted in the integrated assessment modelling undertaken for the present Protocol to provide guidance for setting the emission ceilings in Annex II. B. For Parties in North America 9. For Canada, critical levels of ozone are determined to protect human health and the environment and are used to establish a Canada-wide Standard for ozone. The emission ceilings in Annex II are defined according to the ambition level required to achieve the Canada-wide Standard for ozone. 10. For the United States of America, critical levels of ozone are determined to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety, to protect public welfare from any known or expected adverse effects, and are used to establish a National Ambient Air Quality Standard. Integrated assessment modelling and the Air Quality Standard are used in providing guidance for setting the emission ceilings and/or reductions for the United States of America in Annex II. ANNEX II EMISSION CEILINGS The emission ceilings listed in the tables below relate to the provisions of Article 3 (1) and (10), of the present Protocol. The 1980 and 1990 emission levels and the percentage emission reductions listed are given for information purposes only. Table 1. Emission ceilings for sulphur (thousands of tonnes of SO2 per year) >TABLE POSITION> Table 2. Emission ceilings for nitrogen oxides (thousands of tonnes of NO2 per year) >TABLE POSITION> Table 3. Emission ceilings for ammonia (thousands of tonnes of NH3 per year) >TABLE POSITION> Table 4. Emission ceilings for volatile organic compounds (thousands of tonnes of VOC per year) >TABLE POSITION> ANNEX III DESIGNATED POLLUTANT EMISSIONS MANAGEMENT AREA (PEMA) The following PEMA is listed for the purpose of the present Protocol: Russian Federation PEMA This is the area of Murmansk oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad oblast (including St. Petersburg), Pskov oblast, Novgorod oblast and Kaliningrad oblast. The boundary of the PEMA coincides with the State and administrative boundaries of these constituent entities of the Russian Federation. ANNEX IV LIMIT VALUES FOR EMISSIONS OF SULPHUR FROM STATIONARY SOURCES 1. Section A applies to Parties other than Canada and the United States of America, section B applies to Canada and section C applies to the United States of America. A. Parties other than Canada and the United States of America 2. For the purpose of section A, except Table 2 and paragraphs (11) and (12), limit value means the quantity of a gaseous substance contained in the waste gases from an installation that is not to be exceeded. Unless otherwise specified, it shall be calculated in terms of mass of pollutant per volume of the waste gases (expressed as mg/m3), assuming standard conditions for temperature and pressure for dry gas (volume at 273,15 K, 101,3 kPa). With regard to the oxygen content of the exhaust gas, the values given in the tables below for each source category shall apply. Dilution for the purpose of lowering concentrations of pollutants in waste gases is not permitted. Start-up, shutdown and maintenance of equipment are excluded. 3. Emissions shall be monitored in all cases(1). Compliance with limit values shall be verified. The methods of verification can include continuous or discontinuous measurements, type approval, or any other technically sound method. 4. Sampling and analysis of pollutants, as well as reference measurement methods to calibrate any measurement system, shall be carried out in accordance with the standards laid down by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) or by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). While awaiting the development of CEN or ISO standards, national standards shall apply. 5. Measurements of emissions should be carried out continuously when emissions of SO2 exceed 75 kg/h. 6. In the case of continuous measurement for new plants, compliance with the emission standards is achieved if the calculated daily mean values do not exceed the limit value and if no hourly value exceeds the limit value by 100 %. 7. In the case of continuous measurements for existing plants, compliance with the emission standards is achieved if (a) none of the monthly mean values exceeds the limit values; and (b) 97 % of all the 48-hour mean values do not exceed 110 % of the limit values. 8. In the case of discontinuous measurements, as a minimum requirement, compliance with the emission standards is achieved if the mean value based on an appropriate number of measurements under representative conditions does not exceed the value of the emission standard. 9. Boilers and process heaters with a rated thermal input exceeding 50 Mwth: Table 1. Limit values for SOx emissions released from boilers((In particular, the limit values shall not apply to: - plants in which the products of combustion are used for direct heating, drying, or any other treatment of objects or materials, e.g. reheating furnaces, furnaces for heat treatment, - post-combustion plants, i.e. any technical apparatus designed to purify the waste gases by combustion that is not operated as an independent combustion plant, - facilities for the regeneration of catalytic cracking catalysts; , - facilities for the conversion of hydrogen sulphide into sulphur, - reactors used in the chemical industry, - coke battery furnaces, - cowpers, - waste incinerators, - plants powered by diesel, petrol or gas engines or by combustion turbines, irrespective of the fuel used.)) >TABLE POSITION> 10. Gas oil: Table 2. Limit values for the sulphur content of gas oil(("Gas oil" means any petroleum product within HS 2710, or any petroleum product which, by reason of its distillation limits, falls within the category of middle distillates intended for use as fuel and of which at least 85 % by volume, including distillation losses, distils at 350 °C. Fuels used in on-road and non-road vehicles and agricultural tractors are excluded from this definition. Gas oil intended for marine use is included in the definition if it meets the description above or it has a viscosity or density falling within the ranges of viscosity or density defined for marine distillates in Table I of ISO 8217 (1996).)) >TABLE POSITION> 11. Claus plant: for a plant that produces more than 50 Mg of sulphur a day: (a) sulphur recovery 99,5 % for new plant; (b) sulphur recovery 97 % for existing plant. 12. Titanium dioxide production: in new and existing installations, discharges arising from digestion and calcination steps in the manufacture of titanium dioxide shall be reduced to a value of not more than 10 kg of SO2-equivalent per Mg of titanium dioxide produced. B. Canada 13. Limit values for controlling emissions of sulphur dioxide from new stationary sources in the following stationary source category will be determined on the basis of available information on control technology and levels including limit values applied in other countries and the following document: Canada Gazette, Part I. Department of the Environment. Thermal Power Generation Emissions - National Guidelines for New Stationary Sources. May 15, 1993, pp. 1633-1638. C. United States of America 14. Limit values for controlling emissions of sulphur dioxide from new stationary sources in the following stationarysource categories are specified in the following documents: (1) Electric Utility Steam Generating Units - 40 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 60, Subpart D, and Subpart Da; (2) Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart Db, and Subpart Dc; (3) Sulphuric Acid Plants - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart H; (4) Petroleum Refineries - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart J; (5) Primary Copper Smelters - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart P; (6) Primary Zinc Smelters - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart Q; (7) Primary Lead Smelters - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart R; (8) Stationary Gas Turbines - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart GG; (9) Onshore Natural Gas Processing - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart LLL; (10) Municipal Waste Combustors - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart Ea, and Subpart Eb; (11) Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste Incinerators - 40 C.F.R. Part 60, Subpart Ec. (1) Monitoring is to be understood as an overall activity, comprising measuring of emissions, mass balancing, etc. It can be carried out continuously or discontinuously. ANNEX V LIMIT VALUES FOR EMISSIONS OF NITROGEN OXIDES FROM STATIONARY SOURCES 1. Section A applies to Parties other than Canada and the United States of America, section B applies to Canada and section C applies to the United States of America. A. Parties other than Canada and the United States of America 2. For the purpose of section A, limit value means the quantity of a gaseous substance contained in the waste gases from an installation that is not to be exceeded. Unless otherwise specified, it shall be calculated in terms of mass of pollutant per volume of the waste gases (expressed as mg/m3), assuming standard conditions for temperature and pressure for dry gas (volume at 273,15 K, 101,3 kPa). With regard to the oxygen content of exhaust gas, the values given in the tables below for each source category shall apply. Dilution for the purpose of lowering concentrations of pollutants in waste gases is not permitted. Limit values generally address NO together with NO2, commonly named NOx, expressed as NO2. Start-up, shutdown and maintenance of equipment are excluded. 3. Emissions shall be monitored in all cases(1). Compliance with limit values shall be verified. The methods of verification can include continuous or discontinuous measurements, type approval, or any other technically sound method. 4. Sampling and analysis of pollutants, as well as reference measurement methods to calibrate any measurement system, shall be carried out in accordance with the standards laid down by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) or by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). While awaiting the development of CEN or ISO standards, national standards shall apply. 5. Measurements of emissions should be carried out continuously when emissions of NOx exceed 75 kg/h. 6. In the case of continuous measurements, except for existing combustion plant covered in Table 1, compliance with the emission standards is achieved if the calculated daily mean values do not exceed the limit value and if no hourly value exceeds the limit value by 100 %. 7. In the case of continuous measurements for existing combustion plants covered in Table 1, compliance with the emission standards is achieved if (a) none of the monthly mean values exceeds the emission limit values; and (b) 95 % of all the 48-hour mean values do not exceed 110 % of the emission limit values. 8. In the case of discontinuous measurements, as a minimum requirement, compliance with the emission standards is achieved if the mean value based on an appropriate number of measurements under representative conditions does not exceed the value of the emission standard. 9. Boilers and process heaters with a rated thermal input exceeding 50 MWth: Table 1. Limit values for NOx emissions released from boilers((In particular, the limit values shall not apply to: - plants in which the products of combustion are used for direct heating, drying, or any other treatment of objects or materials, e.g. reheating furnaces, furnaces for heat treatment, - post-combustion plants, i.e. any technical apparatus designed to purify the waste gases by combustion that is not operated as an independent combustion plant, - facilities for the regeneration of catalytic cracking catalysts, - facilities for the conversion of hydrogen sulphide into sulphur, - reactors used in the chemical industry, - coke battery furnaces, - cowpers, - waste incinerators, - plants powered by diesel, petrol or gas engines or by combustion turbines, irrespective of the fuel used.)) >TABLE POSITION> 10. Onshore combustion turbines with a rated thermal input exceeding 50 MWth: the NOx limit values expressed in mg/Nm3 (with an O2 content of 15 %) are to be applied to a single turbine. The limit values in Table 2 apply only above 70 % load. Table 2. Limit values for NOx emissions released from onshore combustion turbines >TABLE POSITION> 11. Cement production: Table 3. Limit values for NOx emissions released from cement production((Installations for the production of cement clinker in rotary kilns with a capacity > 500 mg/day or in other furnaces with a capacity > 50 Mg/day.)) >TABLE POSITION> 12. Stationary engines: Table 4. Limit values for NOx emissions released from new stationary engines >TABLE POSITION> 13. Production and processing of metals: Table 5. Limit values for NOx emissions released from primary iron and steel production((Production and processing of metals: metal ore roasting or sintering installations, installations for the production of pig iron or steel (primary or secondary fusion) including continuous casting with a capacity exceeding 2,5 Mg/hour, installations for the processing of ferrous metals (hot rolling mills > 20 Mg/hour of crude steel).)) >TABLE POSITION> 14. Nitric acid production: Table 6. Limit values for NOx emissions released from nitric acid production excluding acid concentration units >TABLE POSITION> B. Canada 15. Limit values for controlling emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from new stationary sources in the following stationary source categories will be determined on the basis of available information on control technology and levels including limit values applied in other countries and the following documents: (a) Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) …