Trouble in the air: Recent developments under the 1979 Convention on Long‐Range Transboundary Air Pollution

• Author: Adam Byrne
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12219
• Published date: 01 November 2017
• Date: 01 November 2017

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Trouble in the air: Recent developments under the 1979

Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution

Adam Byrne

Correspondence

Email: a.byrne@uclmail.net

Funding information

Economic and Social Research Council (UK)

in collaboration with the Natural

Environment Research Council (UK),

Grant/Award Number: ES/J500185/1

The 1979 Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) is

a significant regional treaty under which eight protocols have been developed. The Con-

vention offers a case study on the legal and political challenges that can occur when

addressing air pollution. This article explores the recent history of the CLRTAP regime,

drawing on the conceptual lens of regime effectiveness. First, the article considers how

the legal framework has been modernized over the past decade to reflect changes in

the sources and effects of air pollution. This has predominantly occurred through

amendments to the 1999 Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-

Level Ozone, the 1998 Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the 1998 Protocol

on Heavy Metals, which were negotiated in 2009–2012. The amendments are an

important point in the regime’s history, as they set more stringent pollution limits. Partic-

ular attention is paid to their prospective entry into force and their broader impact on

European law. Second, the geographic coverage of the legal instruments has long been

anissueofconcern,withanumberofformer Soviet Union States choosing to not par-

ticipate in the pollution-specific protocols. The article reviews efforts to boost participa-

tion through the creation in 2011 of a coordinating group to promote action in the

countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Third, the article explores

recent developments in compliance and inventory adjustments under the Gothenburg

Protocol, as a demonstration of how the system approaches changes in scientific knowl-

edge on the sources and levels of air pollution, and how this affects compliance.

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INTRODUCTION

The 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution

(CLRTAP)

1

is fast approaching its 40th anniversary since its signing

and has been in force for just under 35 years. The Convention was

negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Com-

mission for Europe (UNECE), an organization that was set up to aid

the reconstruction and redevelopment of Europe after the Second

World War.

2

In practical terms, the UNECE attempts to tie together a

heterogeneous range of geopolitical groupings: North America, West-

ern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Balkans and parts of West and Cen-

tral Asia. The Convention therefore has the potential to extend

transboundary air pollution law over a geographic range of 47 million

square kilometres, encompassing 20 percent of the world population.

3

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,

provided the original work is properly cited.

©2017 The Authors. Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

1

Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (adopted 13 November 1979,

entered into force 16 March 1983) 1302 UNTS 217 (CLRTAP).

2

The UNECE was created and given its terms of reference by UN Economic and Social

Council, Economic Commission for Europe (UNESCO Res 36 (IV) (28 March 1947), docu-

ment E/402); for a history of the UNECE, see Y Berthelot and P Rayment, Looking Back and

Peering Forward: A Short History of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe,

1947–2007 (UN 2007); see also AS Bishop and RD Munro, ‘The UN Regional Commissions

and Environmental Problems’(1972) 26 International Organization 348.

3

UNECE ‘Geographical Scope’<https://www.unece.org/oes/nutshell/region.html>.

DOI: 10.1111/reel.12219

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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/reel RECIEL. 2017;26:210–219.