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2000 | Buch

Tropospheric Ozone Abatement

Developing Efficient Strategies for the Reduction of Ozone Precursor Emissions in Europe

herausgegeben von: Prof. Dr. Rainer Friedrich, Stefan Reis, Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing.

Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

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The occurrence of high concentrations of ozone during summer episodes in the troposphere over Europe is a problem still unsolved. Although a number· of measures have been implemented that will achieve a further reduction of precursor emissions in the next years, this will not be sufficient to reduce the ozone concentration to levels below thresholds set up to protect human health and plants. Thus, further reductions of emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides are necessary. However, with regard to the increasing costs associated with increasing emission reduction, it is essential to implement abatement strategies, that are effective, i.e. achieving the environmental aim set up, and efficient, i. e. doing this with the least costs possible. In this book, the authors describe the features and the application of a methodology and a model system to identify effective and efficient strategies to reduce ambient concentrations of tropospheric ozone to comply with thresholds set up to protect human health, agricultural crops and ecosystems. Furthermore, macroeconomic impacts of such strategies are addressed and, as burden and benefits of these strategies are not equally distributed between countries, different burden sharing schemes are discussed. The content of this book is based on results of a comprehensive research project, the project INFOS (assessment of policy instruments for efficient ozone abatement strategies in Europe), funded by the European Commission (Directorate General XII) under the Fourth Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration activities.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
1. Introduction
Abstract
High ambient concentrations of ozone in the troposphere during sunny episodes are one of the main problems of air pollution in Europe. Ozone causes damage to human health, plants, animals and materials. Damage to human health includes irritation of respiratory tracts and eyes and reduction of lung function and physical power; in addition, ozone may cause or intensify chronic respiratory diseases. Furthermore, ozone decreases the photosynthesis rate in plants; this reduces for example crop yield and puts additional stress on forests. Materials containing carbons like paints, rubber and certain synthetics are affected.
Rainer Friedrich
2. Tropospheric Ozone
Abstract
Ozone is regarded to be the main photochemical oxidant present in the troposphere, originating from a formation process involving nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and sunlight. VOCs are, according to the UNECE VOC-Protocol of 1991 (see Sect. 2.3.2)“… 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…”. They include pure hydrocarbons (containing only hydrogen and carbon) and organic compounds, containing further substances such as oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine or flourine.
Stefan Reis, Rainer Friedrich
3. Emissions of Ozone Precursors
Abstract
A brief introduction into the sources of ozone precursor emissions has already been given in Sect. 2.1.2. A detailed analysis of these sectors will be conducted in the following sections, providing the basis for the selection of suitable abatement measures and being used for the projection of a future emission development.
Stefan Reis, Rainer Friedrich
4. Emission Abatement Measures
Abstract
The objective of this chapter is to identify and characterise measures for the abatement of NOx and NMVOC, which are currently available and likely to become instrumental in the period until 2010.
Demosthenes Papameletiou, Jose Maria Maqueda-Barrera
5. Scenarios of Future Development
Abstract
The prime objective for projecting the development of ozone precursor emissions for a future year was to assess the impacts of policies and legislation in place or in pipeline and to estimate the scope of the ozone problem under these conditions. The projection has to serve a number of purposes, mainly to
  • provide the emission database to calculate ozone concentrations on regional and local scale in the trend year 2010,
  • define a trend scenario, taking into account the legislative and technological framework and thus setting the options and limitations for further emission abatement activities,
  • allow to assess efficiency of already implemented measures in terms of cost-effectiveness and ability to achieve the indicated targets, and finally
  • to model the effects of structural and behavioural changes on the environmental problem under investigation.
Stefan Reis, Rainer Friedrich
6. Regional Modelling of Tropospheric Ozone
Abstract
Atmospheric transport and chemistry models are an essential part of assessing ozone abatement. Such models allow a quantification of both the levels of ozone concentration across the whole of Europe, and of the relative effectiveness of different control measures. In this study, two photochemical models of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEPl) have been used to investigate the effects of emission control scenarios and to assess the contribution of specific source sectors to ozone formation over Europe. In a first step, the status quo of ozone concentrations was calculated for the base year 1990 and the trend scenario 2010, showing that even though precursor emissions were reduced significantly, ozone thresholds were exceeded to a large extent. Data from these models were also used as inputs for the emission-optimisation (Chap. 7), economic evaluation (Chap.s 9 & 10), and for more local modelling (Chap. 8). An important application of the Lagrangian model was the provision of sourcereceptor-matrices for the optimisation by the means of calculating matrices to relate emissions to ozone formation for a 5-year average (see Sect. 6.5).
David Simpson, Jan Eiof Jonson
7. Optimising Regional Ozone Reduction Strategies
Abstract
Chap. 6 has shown some effects of EU-wide emission controls on regional ozone concentrations in Europe. However, as discussed in detail within the following sections, an iterative approach is needed to optimise abatement strategies to reach a specific ozone threshold throughout the EU. And since the full EMEP photochemical oxidant model would need excessive amounts of processor time to be applied for e.g. several hundred optimisation steps, a simpler model (see Sect. 7.1.1) has to be used at this stage, allowing the investigation of a considerable number of scenarios.
Stefan Reis, David Simpson, Rainer Friedrich
8. Tropospheric Ozone and Urban Air Quality
Abstract
Exposure to air pollution represents a serious problem in many cities all over the world. Despite the achievements in the reduction of traditional emissions (SO2 and Particulate Matter), the majority of European cities still exceed air quality guidelines. Nowadays, photochemical air pollution causes most of the concern, and in this context attention is focused on ozone — as the most prominent photooxidant — and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). According to the recent report Air Pollution in Europe 1997 of the European Environment Agency, the EU ozone threshold value for the protection of human health (110 μg/m3, 8 h average) is exceeded substantially (Jol and Kielland, 1997). Based on measurements at urban stations it was concluded that 80 % of the EU urban population is exposed to these exceedances.
Nicolas Moussiopoulos, Peter Sahm, Paraskevi-Maria Tourlou, Theodoros Nitis, Abul Kalam Azad, Sofia Papalexiou
9. Efficiency, Equity and Burden—Sharing
Abstract
This chapter focuses on the three inter-related issues of efficiency, equity and burden-sharing. There is a growing recognition that for international environmental problems1 — where the achievement of an environmental goal requires the co-ordination of actions among separate sovereign states — it is important that any policy initiative2 should not only be efficient (i.e. that the goal is achieved at least cost) but also that it must be equitable (i.e. that the burdens associated with achieving the goal are distributed fairly). As Rose (1992) observes in relation to global warming, “[While] equity considerations are usually accorded a secondary role in most economic policy-making, in the case of global warming, there are reasons why they may be paramount”. This view is reinforced by Banuri et al (1996) who postulate that, in order to gain widespread participation, international agreements on reducing pollution must be perceived as being equitable — particularly among regions and countries.
Roger Salmons
10. Macroeconomic Impacts of Abatement Strategies
Abstract
Strategies to reduce ozone concentrations in Europe can have various economic effects. Each national economy, being confronted with the implementation of environmental protection measures, might react with different production, employment and competitiveness changes. Most environmental policy strategies, such as taxes or emissions permits, promote higher energy prices and thus increased costs for producers and consumers, stimulating economic substitution processes. As all European countries are linked by bilateral trade flows, national impacts have influences and spill-over effects on all other European and non-European countries.
Claudia Kemfert
11. Summary and Conclusions
Summary
The high concentrations of tropospheric ozone all over Europe during summer episodes still is an unsolved problem of air pollution. In the years 1994 and 1995, the EU threshold for human health, 110 µg/m3 (over an 8 h mean), was substantially exceeded, exposing a large share of the European citizens to increased ozone levels, some even on more than 25 days during the year.
Rainer Friedrich, Stefan Reis
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Tropospheric Ozone Abatement
herausgegeben von
Prof. Dr. Rainer Friedrich
Stefan Reis, Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing.
Copyright-Jahr
2000
Verlag
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN
978-3-642-59698-8
Print ISBN
978-3-642-64091-9
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59698-8