National Strategy to Combat Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone - Consultation Paper

Note: This consultation has now closed. A summary of responses has now been published. Further information is available at this page.

The following material has been left in place for reference/archive purposes.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, are inviting views on a draft National Strategy to combat acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone through meeting the UK's commitments under the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive and the UNECE Gothenburg Protocol. The document sets out how the UK plans to meet these commitments.

Defra and the Devolved Administrations aim to limit emissions to the air of four transboundary air pollutants: sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia, which can cause acidification, eutrophication and the formation of ground-level ozone. Both the National Emission Ceilings Directive and the Gothenburg Protocol set annual emission levels for these four pollutants for the UK to achieve from 2010 onwards. These agreements are part of a series of international measures to address transboundary air pollution, such as the Large Combustion Plant Directive, the Solvent Emissions Directive and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control - all of which will play a vital role in the UK meeting its ceilings.

Based on current projections for 2010 Defra and the Devolved Administrations expect the UK to meet its commitments under existing and agreed measures. However this is a 'live' document meaning that the strategy will need to be updated and revised as emission projections for 2010 are refined. A revised strategy will be published for consultation in 2006.

The consultation paper is available in Adobe Acrobat format for downloading (500kb). See also this News Release (16 August 2002).

Consultations close on 8 November 2002. Interested parties and stakeholders should send responses before that date to:

Miss Rhonda Scobie
Defra
4/G15 Ashdown House
123 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6DE
or by email to air.quality@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Background/Links

The UK is committed to transposing the National Emission Ceilings Directive into domestic legislation by 27 November 2002. There is no exact deadline for the UK's ratification of the Gothenburg Protocol, however the UK aims to be amongst the first sixteen parties to enforce international agreements.

• A copy of the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive (2001/81/EC) can be found on the EU website at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2001/l_309/l_30920011127en00220030.pdf
• A copy of the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution can be found on the UNECE website at www.unece.org/env/lrtap/protocol/99multi.htm

UK emission for pollutants are published on the UK National Air Quality Information Archive and the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory at www.naei.org.uk. Further information on air pollution and other measures to improve air quality can be found on the air quality pages of the Defra website.