Decreto n.º 20/2004

TEXTO :

Decreto n.º 20/2004

de 20 de Agosto

Sendo Portugal parte da Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre Poluição Atmosférica Transfronteiriça a Longa Distância, assinada em Genebra em 13 de Novembro de 1979, e aprovada pelo Decreto n.º 45/80, de 12 de Junho, assinou em 1 de Dezembro de 1999, em Gotemburgo, o Protocolo à referida Convenção, Relativo à Redução da Acidificação, Eutrofização e Ozono Troposférico, doravante designado "Protocolo».

Considerando que o Protocolo tem por objectivo uma redução da acidificação, da eutrofização e do ozono troposférico e ainda a fixação, para cada Parte da Convenção, dos níveis máximos tolerados de emissão, ou valores limite, aplicáveis a quatro poluentes: enxofre, óxidos de azoto, compostos orgânicos voláteis e amoníaco, que podem ser atingidos até 2010;

Considerando que o Protocolo estabelece os valores limite para fontes específicas de emissão, designadamente instalações de combustão, produção de electricidade, limpeza a seco e veículos ligeiros e pesados, e prevê a aplicação das melhores técnicas disponíveis para manter as emissões em níveis baixos, contribuindo para alcançar os objectivos nacionais e comunitários em matéria de ambiente:

Assim:

Nos termos da alínea c) do n.º 1 do artigo 197.º da Constituição, o Governo aprova o Protocolo à Convenção de 1979 sobre Poluição Atmosférica Transfronteiriça a Longa Distância Relativo à Redução da Acidificação, Eutrofização e Ozono Troposférico, assinado em 1 de Dezembro de 1999 em Gotemburgo, cujo texto, na versão autenticada na língua inglesa e respectiva tradução em português, se publica em anexo.

Visto e aprovado em Conselho de Ministros de 26 de Abril de 2004. - José Manuel Durão Barroso - Maria Teresa Pinto Basto Gouveia - Carlos Manuel Tavares da Silva - Luís Filipe Pereira - Amílcar Augusto Contel Martins Theias.

Assinado em 19 de Maio de 2004.

Publique-se.

O Presidente da República, JORGE SAMPAIO.

Referendado em 1 de Julho de 2004.

O Primeiro-Ministro, José Manuel Durão Barroso.

PROTOCOL TO THE 1979 CONVENTION ON LONG-RANGE TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION TO ABATE ACIDIFICATION, EUTROPHICATION AND GROUND-LEVEL OZONE.

The Parties:

Determined to implement the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution;

Aware that nitrogen oxides, sulphur, volatile organic compounds and reduced nitrogen compounds have been associated with adverse effects on human health and the environment;

Concerned that critical loads of acidification, critical loads of nutrient nitrogen and critical levels of ozone for human health and vegetation are still exceeded in many areas of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's region;

Concerned also that emitted nitrogen oxides, sulphur and volatile organic compounds, as well as secondary pollutants such as ozone and the reaction products of ammonia, are transported in the atmosphere over long distances and may have adverse transboundary effects;

Recognizing that emissions from Parties within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's region contribute to air pollution on the hemispheric and global scales, and recognizing the potential for transport between continents and the need for further study with regard to that potential;

Recognizing also that Canada and the United States of America are bilaterally negotiating reductions of emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds to address the transboundary ozone effect;

Recognizing furthermore that Canada will undertake further reductions of emissions of sulphur by 2010 through the implementation of the Canada-wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000, and that the United States is committed to the implementation of a nitrogen oxides reduction programme in the eastern United States and to the reduction in emissions necessary to meet its national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter;

Resolved to apply a multi-effect, multi-pollutant approach to preventing or minimizing the exceedances of critical loads and levels;

Taking into account the emissions from certain existing activities and installations responsible for present air pollution levels and the development of future activities and installations;

Aware that techniques and management practices are available to reduce emissions of these substances;

Resolved to take measures to anticipate, prevent or minimize emissions of these substances, taking into account the application of the precautionary approach as set forth in principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development;

Reaffirming that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and 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;

Conscious of the need for a cost-effective regional approach to combating air pollution that takes account of the variations in effects and abatement costs between countries;

Noting the important contribution of the private and non-governmental sectors to knowledge of the effects associated with these substances and available abatement techniques, and their role in assisting in the reduction of emissions to the atmosphere;

Bearing in mind that measures taken to reduce emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international competition and trade;

Taking into consideration best available scientific and technical knowledge and data on emissions, atmospheric processes and effects on human health and the environment of these substances, as well as on abatement costs, and acknowledging the need to improve this knowledge and to continue scientific and technical cooperation to further understanding of these issues;

Noting that under the Protocol concerning the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or their Transboundary Fluxes, adopted at Sofia on 31 October 1988, and the Protocol concerning the Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or their Transboundary Fluxes, adopted at Geneva on 18 November 1991, there is already provision to control emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, and that the technical annexes to both those Protocols already contain technical guidance for reducing these emissions;

Noting also that under the Protocol on Further Reduction of Sulphur Emissions, adopted at Oslo on 14 June 1994, there is already provision to reduce sulphur emissions in order to contribute to the abatement of acid deposition by diminishing the exceedances of critical sulphur depositions, which have been derived from critical loads of acidity according to the contribution of oxidized sulphur compounds to the total acid deposition in 1990;

Noting furthermore that this Protocol is the first agreement under the Convention to deal specifically with reduced nitrogen compounds;

Bearing in mind that reducing the emissions of these substances may provide additional benefits for the control of other pollutants, including in particular transboundary secondary particulate aerosols, which contribute to human health effects associated with exposure to airborne particulates;

Bearing in mind also the need to avoid, in so far as possible, taking measures for the achievement of the objectives of this Protocol that aggravate other health and environment-related problems;

Noting that measures taken to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia should involve consideration of the full biogeochemical nitrogen cycle and, so far as possible, not increase emissions of reactive nitrogen including nitrous oxide which could aggravate other nitrogen-related problems;

Aware that methane and carbon monoxide emitted by human activities contribute, in the presence of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, to the formation of tropospheric ozone; and

Aware also of the commitments that Parties have assumed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:

have agreed as follows:

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of the present Protocol:

1) "Convention» means the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, adopted at Geneva on 13 November 1979;

2) "EMEP» means the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of 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) "Commission» means the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;

5) "Parties» means, unless the context otherwise requires, the Parties to the present Protocol;

6) "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 at Geneva on 28 September 1984;

7) "Emission» means the release of a substance from a point or diffuse source into the atmosphere;

8) "Nitrogen oxides» means nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, expressed as nitrogen dioxide (NO(índice 2));

9) "Reduced nitrogen compounds» means ammonia and its reaction products;

10) "Sulphur» means all sulphur compounds, expressed as sulphur dioxide (SO(índice 2));

11) "Volatile organic compounds», or "VOCs», means, unless otherwise specified, all organic compounds of an anthropogenic nature, other than methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by reaction with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight;

12) "Critical load» means a quantitative estimate of an exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur, according to present knowledge;

13) "Critical levels» means concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere above which direct adverse effects on receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems or materials, may occur, according to present knowledge;

14) "Pollutant emissions management area», or "PEMA», means an area designated in annex III under the conditions laid down in article 3, paragraph 9;

15) "Stationary source» means any fixed building, structure, facility, installation or equipment that emits or may emit sulphur, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds or ammonia directly or indirectly into the atmosphere;

16) "New stationary source» means any stationary source of which the construction or substantial modification is commenced after the expiry of one year from the date of entry into force of the present Protocol. It shall be a matter for the competent national authorities to decide whether a modification is substantial or not, taking into account such factors as the environmental benefits of the modification.

Article 2

Objective

The objective of the present Protocol is to control and reduce emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and volatile organic compounds that are caused by anthropogenic activities and are likely to cause adverse effects on human health, natural ecosystems, materials and crops, due to acidification, eutrophication or ground-level ozone as a result of long-range transboundary atmospheric transport, and to ensure, as far as possible, that in the long term and in a stepwise approach, taking into account advances in scientific knowledge, atmospheric depositions or concentrations do not exceed:

ii) For Canada, the Canada-wide Standard for ozone; and

iii) For the United States of America, the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone.

Article 3

Basic obligations

1 - Each Party having an emission ceiling in any table in annex II shall reduce and maintain the reduction in its annual emissions in accordance with that ceiling and the timescales specified in that annex. Each Party shall, as a minimum, control its annual emissions of polluting compounds in accordance with the obligations in annex II.

2 - Each Party shall apply the limit values specified in annexes IV, V and VI to each new stationary source within a stationary source category as identified in those annexes, no later than the timescales specified in annex VII. As an alternative, a Party may apply different emission reduction strategies that achieve equivalent overall emission levels for all source categories together.

3 - Each Party shall, in so far as it is technically and economically feasible and taking into consideration the costs and advantages, apply the limit values specified in annexes IV, V and VI to each existing stationary source within a stationary source category as identified in those annexes, no later than the timescales specified in annex VII. As an alternative, a Party may apply different emission reduction strategies that achieve equivalent overall emission levels for all source categories together or, for Parties outside the geographical scope of EMEP, that are necessary to achieve national or regional goals for acidification abatement and to meet national air quality standards.

4 - Limit values for new and existing boilers and process heaters with a rated thermal input exceeding 50 MWth and new heavy-duty vehicles shall be evaluated by the Parties at a session of the Executive Body with a view to amending annexes IV, V and VIII no later than two years after the date of entry into force of the present Protocol.

5 - Each Party shall apply the limit values for the fuels and new mobile sources identified in annex VIII, no later than the timescales specified in annex VII.

6 - Each Party should apply best available techniques to mobile sources and to each new or existing stationary source, taking into account guidance documents I to V adopted by the Executive Body at its seventeenth session (decision 1999/1) and any amendments thereto.

7 - Each Party shall take appropriate measures based, inter alia, on scientific and economic criteria to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds associated with the use of products not included in annex VI or VIII. The Parties shall, no later than at the second session of the Executive Body after the entry into force of the present Protocol, consider with a view to adopting an annex on products, including criteria for the selection of such products, limit values for the volatile organic compound content of products not included in annex VI or VIII, as well as timescales for the application of the limit values.

8 - Each Party shall, subject to paragraph 10:

9 - Paragraph 10 shall apply to any Party:

10 - A Party to which this paragraph applies shall:

11 - Canada and the United States of America shall, upon their ratification, acceptance or approval of, or accession to, the present Protocol, submit to the Executive Body their respective emission reduction commitments with respect to sulphur, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds for automatic incorporation into annex II.

12 - The Parties shall, subject to the outcome of the first review provided for under article 10, paragraph 2, and no later than one year after completion of that review, commence negotiations on further obligations to reduce emissions.

Article 4

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