Acid Rain Cooperation in Europe

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Acid Rain Cooperation in Europe
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The Problem

• Svante Oden (1968) The Acidification of Air and
  Precipitation and its Consequences.
• SOx, NOx -gt transported over the continent
  -gtform acids in precipitation or dry form
• Damage to health, forests, lakes, soils,
  ecosystems particularly in Sweden, Norway
• International environmental externality

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The Actors

• Leaders Sweden, Norway
• 1972 Conference on the Human Environment
• Laggards UK, Germany, Communist Eastern Europe

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The Breakthrough

• 1975 Helsinki Conference on Security and
  Cooperation in Europe
• USSR and US interested in détente
• Environment the most convenient object of
  cooperation
• Scandinavians saw an opportunity, so did Canada
• The UN Economic Commission for Europe lead
  agency
• Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Convention
  (LRTAP), 1979
• EMEP Protocol (1984)

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More Lead Actors

• West Germany the death of the Black Forest
• 30 club Scandinavians, W. Germany, Austria,
  Switzerland, Canada, France
• The First Sulfur Protocol (1985)
• 30 of 1980 emissions by 1993

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The Protocols

• The Nitrogen Oxides Protocol (1988)
• Freeze emissions at 1987 levels by 1995
• VOC Protocol (1991)
• 30 of emissions (base b/w 1984 and 1990) by
  1999.
• The Second Sulfur Protocol (1994)
• Differentiated targets bases on critical loads
  for acidification for 2000 and 2010technology
  standards
• The Protocol on Heavy Metals (1998 )
• The Protocol on POPs (1998)
• Gothenburg Multipollutant Protocol (1999)

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Regulatory Innovation

• Critical loads the highest load that will not
  cause chemical changes leading to long-term
  harmful effects on the most sensitive ecological
  ecosystems (Levy 1995, p. 61).
• Why negotiate on the basis of critical loads
  estimates?

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Critical Loads for Acid Deposition(red-high
sensitivity, blue low)
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The RAINS Model

• Integrate science in international policy
• Emissions module
• Cost module
• Dispersion module
• Effects module (critical loads)

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Second Sulfur Protocol Correlation of SO2
Emission Ceilings and RAINS Recommendations
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Second Sulfur Protocol (1994)

• 60 gap closure against critical loads
• Differentiated targets
• Requirement to apply BAT, achieve up to 90
  desulfurization of emissions from large sources

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The Gothenburg Protocol (1999)

• Multiple effects Acidification, Eutrophication
  and Ground-level Ozone
• Multiple pollutants emission ceilings for SOx,
  NOx, VOCs and ammonia (NH3) by 2010
• Based on RAINS outputs
• Emission limits for large combustion sources, dry
  cleaning, cars, trucks based on BAT
• If implemented, Europes sulfur emissions should
  be cut by 63, its NOx by 41, VOC by 40, and
  ammonia by 17 compared to 1990.

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Gothenburg Protocol Correlation of SO2 emission
ceilings and RAINS Recommendations
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EU Directives

• Large Combustion Plant Directive (1988)
• Large Combustion Plant Directive II (2001)
• National Emissions Ceilings Directive (2001)

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Acid Rain Cooperation in Europe

• Success or least common denominator agreements?

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Emissions in the ECNOx-24 SO2 -58
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Air Pollution in the US
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Acidifying Emissions in Central and Eastern
Europe
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ConclusionsWhat facilitates cooperation?

• Information change of strategies/interests
• Issue linkage (both within regime and other
  regimes e.g. EU)
• Science-policy linkage
• Small number of actors easier to overcome
  collective action problems

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• RAINS Asia?