Long-range transboundary air pollution

Recommendation 867 (1979)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

See Doc. 4368, report of the Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 28 June 1979.

Thesaurus

The Assembly,

1. Having regard to the report of its Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities on long-range transboundary air pollution (Doc. 4368) ;

2. Recalling Resolutions (68) 4 and (70) 12 of the Committee of Ministers on the Declaration of Principles on Air Pollution Control and on the control of sulphur dioxide emissions into the air ;

3. Taking into account the pertinent provisions of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment, and in particular Principle 21, according to which states have 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 ;

4. Further recalling that the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe describes the control of air pollution, including long-range transport of air pollutants, as one of the fields of co-operation between European states ;

5. Noting OECD's activities in the field of long-range transfrontier air pollution, and recommendations of the OECD Council on transfrontier pollution ;

6. Welcoming the adoption of a draft Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution by the UN Economic Commission for Europe at its 34th Session in Geneva ;

7. Considering this draft convention as a first step towards reducing and preventing long-range transboundary air pollution ;

8. Expressing its satisfaction that this draft convention will be open for signature or accession to all the member states of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, thus covering the whole continent ;

9. Bearing in mind that the signature and ratification of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution does not in itself ensure that member states of the Council of Europe pursue effective and responsible policies in this field,

10. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers invite the governments of member states :

a to sign the UN Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution at the high-level meeting on the protection of the environment to be held in Geneva in November 1979, and as soon as possible thereafter to ratify it ;

b to develop without delay further co-operation in problem areas within the scope of the ECE convention, and in particular strategies and policies for the abatement of air pollution caused by sulphur compounds ;

c to contribute actively to the further development of the existing co-operative programme for the monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of air pollutants in Europe (EMEP), by exchanging information and technical data, and extending the national EMEP networks to make them operational for control and surveillance purposes ;

d to provide the appropriate financial means to develop technologies for reducing emissions of air pollutants and to ensure that the most advanced technologies are applied.