Guidance document on emission control techniques for mobile sources

The Gothenburg Protocol was amended in 2012. Its Annex VIII specifies emission limit values for road and non-road mobile sources as well as environmental specifications for fuels. The “Guidance Document on Emission Control Techniques for Mobile Sources”, intends to provide guidance to the Parties to the Convention on how to achieve the environmental targets set out in the AGP.

The former 1999 Guidance Document was revised in 2014-2015. The main revisions focused on emissions of fine particulate matter (PM), including black carbon (BC), and a larger range of mobile sources. More importantly, significant changes have occurred since 1999, both in the technological measures available to control emissions and in the non-technical instruments that are now available to abate emissions. In this respect, it was necessary to define the candidate techniques or non-technical instruments that could be used to achieve the environmental policy targets set forward by the amended GP. In this process, the identification of “best available techniques” (BAT), i.e., measures that have a high probability of leading to real emission reductions for mobile sources, was analysed and discussed in order to assist the Parties in their decisions.

The work was carried out by EMISIA and IIASA for TFTEI. The “Guidance Document on Emission Control Techniques for Mobile Sources” was adopted at the thirty-fifth session (Geneva, 2–4 May 2016) of the Executive Body. It replaced the 1999 guidance document on control techniques for selected mobiles sources (see EB.AIR/1999/2).

The documents prepared are as follows:

The 2016 guidance document is scheduled for revision in 2025 for delivery in 2026.

Guidance document on technical measures for reduction of air pollutant emissions from shipping

The objective of this new guidance document is to provide Parties to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and other interested parties with the latest information on effective measures to reduce emissions of air pollutants from maritime shipping and the associated effects on human health and the environment.

The guidance document presents pollution control techniques applicable to ships, both during navigation and at berth, to limit their atmospheric emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), total suspended particles (TSP), PM10 and PM2.5, including black carbon (BC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In addition, where relevant, this guidance also provides information on the co-benefits of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Further analysis and information are provided in the associated informal background technical report.

In general, all techniques evaluated provide measurable emission reductions, relative to a reference technology, and are technically feasible under specific conditions, depending on the technique. However, the list of all existing and/or promising future measures is not exhaustive.

The documents prepared by TFTEI are as follows: