Convention on Volatile Organic Compounds, 1991

 

Article 1
Definitions

For the purposes of the present Protocol,

1.”Convention”means the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air
Pollution, adopted in Geneva on 13 November 1979;

2.”EMEP”means the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of
the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe;

3.”Executive Body” means the Executive Body for the Convention
constituted under article 10, paragraph 1, of the Convention;

4.”Geographical scope of EMEP”means the area defined in article 1,
paragraph 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 in Geneva on 28 September 1984;

5.”Tropospheric ozone management area”(TOMA) means an area specified in
annex I under conditions laid down in article 2, paragraph 2 (b);

6.”Parties”means, unless the context otherwise requires, the Parties to
the present Protocol;

7.”Commission”means the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;

8.”Critical levels”means concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere
for a specified exposure time below which direct adverse effects on
receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems or materials do not
occur according to present knowledge;

9.”Volatile organic compounds”, or “VOCs”, means, unless otherwise
specified, all organic compounds of anthropogenic nature, other than
methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by
reactions with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight;

10.”Major source category” means any category of sources which emit air
pollutants in the form of VOCs, including the categories described in
annexes II and III, and which contribute at least 1% of the total
national emissions of VOCs on an annual basis, as measured or calculated
in the first calendar year after the date of entry into force of the
present Protocol, and every fourth year thereafter;

11.”New stationary source”means any stationary source of which the
construction or substantial modification is commenced after the expiry of
two years from the date of entry into force of the present Protocol;

12.”New mobile source”means any on-road motor vehicle which is
manufactured after the expiry of two years from the date of entry into
force of the present Protocol;

13.”Photochemical ozone creation potential”(POCP) means the potential of
an individual VOC, relative to that of other VOCs, to form ozone by
reaction with oxides of nitrogen in the presence of sunlight, as
described in annex IV.

Article 2
Basic Obligations

1. The Parties shall control and reduce their emissions of VOCs in order
to reduce their transboundary fluxes and the fluxes of the resulting
secondary photochemical oxidant products so as to protect human health
and the environment from adverse effects.

2. Each Party shall, in order to meet the requirements of paragraph 1
above, control and reduce its national annual emissions of VOCs or their
transboundary fluxes in any one of the following ways to be specified
upon signature:

(a) It shall, as soon as possible and as a first step, take effective
measures to reduce its national annual emissions of VOCs by at least 30%
by the year 1999, using 1988 levels as a basis or any other annual level
during the period 1984 to 1990, which it may specify upon signature of or
accession to the present Protocol; or

(b) Where its annual emissions contribute to tropospheric ozone
concentrations in areas under the jurisdiction of one or more other
Parties, and such emissions originate only from areas under its
jurisdiction that are specified as TOMAs in annex I, it shall, as soon as
possible and as a first step, take effective measures to:

(i) Reduce its annual emissions of VOCs from the areas so
specified by at least 30% by the year 1999, using 1988 levels
as a basis or any other annual level during the period
1984-1990, which it may specify upon signature of or
accession to the present Protocol; and

(ii) Ensure that its total national annual emissions of VOCs by
the year 1999 do not exceed the 1988 levels; or

(c) Where its national annual emissions of VOCs were in 1988 lower
than 500,000 tonnes and 20 kg/inhabitant and 5 tonnes/km2, it shall, as
soon as possible and as a first step, take effective measures to ensure
at least that at the latest by the year 1999 its national annual
emissions of VOCs do not exceed the 1988 levels.

3. (a) Furthermore, no later than two years after the date of entry into
force of the present Protocol, each Party shall:

(i) Apply appropriate national or international emission
standards to new stationary sources based on the best
available technologies which are economically feasible,
taking into consideration annex II;

(ii) Apply national or international measures to products that
contain solvents and promote the use of products that are low
in or do not contain VOCs, taking into consideration annex
II, including the labeling of products specifying their VOC
content;

(iii) Apply appropriate national or international emission
standards to new mobile sources based on the best available
technologies which are economically feasible, taking into
consideration annex III; and

(iv) Foster public participation in emission control programmes
through public announcements, encouraging the best use of all
modes of transportation and promoting traffic management
schemes.

(b) Furthermore, no later than five years after the date of entry into
force of the present Protocol, in those areas in which national or
international tropospheric ozone standards are exceeded or where
transboundary fluxes originate or are expected to originate, each Party
shall:

(i) Apply the best available technologies that are economically
feasible to existing stationary sources in major source
categories, taking into consideration annex II;

(ii) Apply techniques to reduce VOC emissions from petrol
distribution and motor vehicle refueling operations, and to
reduce volatility of petrol, taking into consideration
annexes II and III.

4. In carrying out their obligations under this article, Parties are
invited to give highest priority to reduction and control of emissions of
substances with the greatest POCP, taking into consideration the
information contained in annex IV.

5. In implementing the present Protocol, and in particular any product
substitution measures, Parties shall take appropriate steps to ensure
that toxic and carcinogenic VOCs, and those that harm the stratospheric
ozone layer, are not substituted for other VOCs.

6. The Parties shall, as a second step, commence negotiations, no later
than six months after the date of entry into force of the present
Protocol, on further steps to reduce national annual emissions of
volatile organic compounds or transboundary fluxes of such emissions and
their resulting secondary photochemical oxidant products, taking into
account the best available scientific and technological developments,
scientifically determined critical levels and internationally accepted
target levels, the role of nitrogen oxides in the formation of
photochemical oxidants and other elements resulting from the work
programme undertaken under article 5.

7. To this end, the Parties shall cooperate in order to establish:

(a) More detailed information on the individual VOCs and their POCP
values;

(b) Critical levels for photochemical oxidants;

(c) Reductions in national annual emissions or transboundary fluxes of
VOCs and their resulting secondary photochemical oxidant products,
especially as required to achieve agreed objectives based on critical
levels;

(d) Control strategies, such as economic instruments, to obtain
overall cost-effectiveness to achieve agreed objectives;

(e) Measures and a timetable commencing no later than 1 January 2000
for achieving such reductions.

8. In the course of these negotiations, the Parties shall consider
whether it would be appropriate for the purposes specified in paragraph 1
to supplement such further steps with measures to reduce methane.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Convention on Volatile Organic Compounds, 1991 2, Convention on Volatile Organic Compounds, 1991 3, Convention on Volatile Organic Compounds, 1991 4.