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INTRODUCTION
9.1. Protection of the atmosphere is a broad and
multidimensional endeavour involving various sectors of
economic activity. The options and measures described in
the present chapter are recommended for consideration
and, as appropriate, implementation by Governments and
other bodies in their efforts to protect the
atmosphere.
9.2. It is recognized that many of the issues
discussed in this chapter are also addressed in such
international agreements as the 1985 Vienna Convention
for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the 1987 Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer as
amended, the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change and other international, including
regional, instruments. In the case of activities covered
by such agreements, it is understood that the
recommendations contained in this chapter do not oblige
any Government to take measures which exceed the
provisions of these legal instruments. However, within
the framework of this chapter, Governments are free to
carry out additional measures which are consistent with
those legal instruments.
9.3. It is also recognized that activities that may
be undertaken in pursuit of the objectives of this
chapter should be coordinated with social and economic
development in an integrated manner with a view to
avoiding adverse impacts on the latter, taking into full
account the legitimate priority needs of developing
countries for the achievement of sustained economic
growth and the eradication of poverty.
9.4. In this context particular reference is also
made to programme area A of chapter 2 of Agenda 21
(Promoting sustainable development through trade).
9.5. The present chapter includes the following four
programme areas:
(a) Addressing the uncertainties: improving
the scientific basis for decision-making; (b)
Promoting sustainable development:
- Energy development, efficiency and consumption;
- Transportation;
- Industrial development;
- Terrestrial and marine resource development and
land use;
C) Preventing
stratospheric ozone depletion;
D) Transboundary atmospheric pollution.
PROGRAMME AREAS
A. Addressing the uncertainties:
improving the scientific basis for
decision-making
Basis for action
9.6. Concern about climate change and climate
variability, air pollution and ozone depletion has
created new demands for scientific, economic and social
information to reduce the remaining uncertainties in
these fields. Better understanding and prediction of the
various properties of the atmosphere and of the affected
ecosystems, as well as health impacts and their
interactions with socio-economic factors, are
needed.
Objectives
9.7. The basic objective of this programme area is to
improve the understanding of processes that influence
and are influenced by the Earth's atmosphere on a
global, regional and local scale, including, inter alia,
physical, chemical, geological, biological, oceanic,
hydrological, economic and social processes; to build
capacity and enhance international cooperation; and to
improve understanding of the economic and social
consequences of atmospheric changes and of mitigation
and response measures addressing such changes.
Activities
9.8. Governments at the appropriate level, with the
cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and,
as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector, should:
(a) Promote research related to the natural
processes affecting and being affected by the
atmosphere, as well as the critical linkages between
sustainable development and atmospheric changes,
including impacts on human health, ecosystems,
economic sectors and society;
(b) Ensure a
more balanced geographical coverage of the Global
Climate Observing System and its components, including
the Global Atmosphere Watch, by facilitating, inter
alia, the establishment and operation of additional
systematic observation stations, and by contributing
to the development, utilization and accessibility of
these databases;
(c) Promote cooperation in:
-
The development of early detection systems
concerning changes and fluctuations in the
atmosphere;
-
The establishment and improvement of
capabilities to predict such changes and
fluctuations and to assess the resulting
environmental and socio-economic impacts;
(d) Cooperate in research to develop
methodologies and identify threshold levels of
atmospheric pollutants, as well as atmospheric levels
of greenhouse gas concentrations, that would cause
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system and the environment as a whole, and the
associated rates of change that would not allow
ecosystems to adapt naturally;
(e) Promote, and cooperate in the building of
scientific capacities, the exchange of scientific data
and information, and the facilitation of the
participation and training of experts and technical
staff, particularly of developing countries, in the
fields of research, data assembly, collection and
assessment, and systematic observation related to the
atmosphere.
B. Promoting sustainable
development
1. Energy development, efficiency and
consumption
Basis for action
9.9. Energy is essential to economic and social
development and improved quality of life. Much of the
world's energy, however, is currently produced and
consumed in ways that could not be sustained if
technology were to remain constant and if overall
quantities were to increase substantially. The need to
control atmospheric emissions of greenhouse and other
gases and substances will increasingly need to be based
on efficiency in energy production, transmission,
distribution and consumption, and on growing reliance on
environmentally sound energy systems, particularly new
and renewable sources of energy. 1/
All energy sources will need to be used in ways that
respect the atmosphere, human health and the environment
as a whole.
9.10. The existing constraints to increasing the
environmentally sound energy supplies required for
pursuing the path towards sustainable development,
particularly in developing countries, need to be
removed.
Objectives
9.11. The basic and ultimate objective of this
programme area is to reduce adverse effects on the
atmosphere from the energy sector by promoting policies
or programmes, as appropriate, to increase the
contribution of environmentally sound and cost-effective
energy systems, particularly new and renewable ones,
through less polluting and more efficient energy
production, transmission, distribution and use. This
objective should reflect the need for equity, adequate
energy supplies and increasing energy consumption in
developing countries, and should take into consideration
the situations of countries that are highly dependent on
income generated from the production, processing and
export, and/or consumption of fossil fuels and
associated energy-intensive products and/or the use of
fossil fuels for which countries have serious
difficulties in switching to alternatives, and the
situations of countries highly vulnerable to adverse
effects of climate change.
Activities
9.12. Governments at the appropriate level, with the
cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and,
as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector, should:
(a) Cooperate in identifying and developing
economically viable, environmentally sound energy
sources to promote the availability of increased
energy supplies to support sustainable development
efforts, in particular in developing
countries;
(b) Promote the development at the
national level of appropriate methodologies for making
integrated energy, environment and economic policy
decisions for sustainable development, inter alia,
through environmental impact assessments;
(c) Promote the research, development,
transfer and use of improved energy-efficient
technologies and practices, including endogenous
technologies in all relevant sectors, giving special
attention to the rehabilitation and modernization of
power systems, with particular attention to developing
countries;
(d) Promote the research, development,
transfer and use of technologies and practices for
environmentally sound energy systems, including new
and renewable energy systems, with particular
attention to developing countries;
(e) Promote the development of institutional,
scientific, planning and management capacities,
particularly in developing countries, to develop,
produce and use increasingly efficient and less
polluting forms of energy;
(f) Review current energy supply mixes to
determine how the contribution of environmentally
sound energy systems as a whole, particularly new and
renewable energy systems, could be increased in an
economically efficient manner, taking into account
respective countries' unique social, physical,
economic and political characteristics, and examining
and implementing, where appropriate, measures to
overcome any barriers to their development and use;
(g) Coordinate energy plans regionally and
subregionally, where applicable, and study the
feasibility of efficient distribution of
environmentally sound energy from new and renewable
energy sources;
(h) In accordance with national
socio-economic development and environment priorities,
evaluate and, as appropriate, promote cost-effective
policies or programmes, including administrative,
social and economic measures, in order to improve
energy efficiency;
(i) Build capacity for energy planning and
programme management in energy efficiency, as well as
for the development, introduction, and promotion of
new and renewable sources of energy;
(j) Promote appropriate energy efficiency and
emission standards or recommendations at the national
level, 2/
aimed at the development and use of technologies
that minimize adverse impacts on the environment;
(k) Encourage education and awareness-raising
programmes at the local, national, subregional and
regional levels concerning energy efficiency and
environmentally sound energy systems;
(l) Establish or enhance, as appropriate, in
cooperation with the private sector, labelling
programmes for products to provide decision makers and
consumers with information on opportunities for energy
efficiency.
2. Transportation
Basis for action
9.13. The transport sector has an essential and
positive role to play in economic and social
development, and transportation needs will undoubtedly
increase. However, since the transport sector is also a
source of atmospheric emissions, there is need for a
review of existing transport systems and for more
effective design and management of traffic and transport
systems.
Objectives
9.14. The basic objective of this programme area is
to develop and promote cost-effective policies or
programmes, as appropriate, to limit, reduce or control,
as appropriate, harmful emissions into the atmosphere
and other adverse environmental effects of the transport
sector, taking into account development priorities as
well as the specific local and national circumstances
and safety aspects.
Activities
9.15. Governments at the appropriate level, with the
cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and,
as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector, should:
(a) Develop and promote, as appropriate,
cost-effective, more efficient, less polluting and
safer transport systems, particularly integrated rural
and urban mass transit, as well as environmentally
sound road networks, taking into account the needs for
sustainable social, economic and development
priorities, particularly in developing
countries;
(b) Facilitate at the
international, regional, subregional and national
levels access to and the transfer of safe, efficient,
including resource-efficient, and less polluting
transport technologies, particularly to the developing
countries, including the implementation of appropriate
training programmes;
(c) Strengthen, as appropriate, their efforts
at collecting, analysing and exchanging relevant
information on the relation between environment and
transport, with particular emphasis on the systematic
observation of emissions and the development of a
transport database;
(d) In accordance with national
socio-economic development and environment priorities,
evaluate and, as appropriate, promote cost-effective
policies or programmes, including administrative,
social and economic measures, in order to encourage
use of transportation modes that minimize adverse
impacts on the atmosphere;
(e) Develop or enhance, as appropriate,
mechanisms to integrate transport planning strategies
and urban and regional settlement planning strategies,
with a view to reducing the environmental impacts of
transport;
(f) Study, within the framework of the United
Nations and its regional commissions, the feasibility
of convening regional conferences on transport and the
environment.
3. Industrial development
Basis for action
9.16. Industry is essential for the production of
goods and services and is a major source of employment
and income, and industrial development as such is
essential for economic growth. At the same time,
industry is a major resource and materials user and
consequently industrial activities result in emissions
into the atmosphere and the environment as a whole.
Protection of the atmosphere can be enhanced, inter
alia, by increasing resource and materials efficiency in
industry, installing or improving pollution abatement
technologies and replacing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
and other ozone-depleting substances with appropriate
substitutes, as well as by reducing wastes and
by-products.
Objectives
9.17. The basic objective of this programme area is
to encourage industrial development in ways that
minimize adverse impacts on the atmosphere by, inter
alia, increasing efficiency in the production and
consumption by industry of all resources and materials,
by improving pollution-abatement technologies and by
developing new environmentally sound technologies.
Activities
9.18. Governments at the appropriate level, with the
cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and,
as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector, should:
(a) In accordance with national
socio-economic development and environment priorities,
evaluate and, as appropriate, promote cost-effective
policies or programmes, including administrative,
social and economic measures, in order to minimize
industrial pollution and adverse impacts on the
atmosphere;
(b) Encourage industry to
increase and strengthen its capacity to develop
technologies, products and processes that are safe,
less polluting and make more efficient use of all
resources and materials, including energy;
(c) Cooperate in the development and transfer
of such industrial technologies and in the development
of capacities to manage and use such technologies,
particularly with respect to developing countries;
(d) Develop, improve and apply environmental
impact assessments to foster sustainable industrial
development;
(e) Promote efficient use of materials and
resources, taking into account the life cycles of
products, in order to realize the economic and
environmental benefits of using resources more
efficiently and producing fewer wastes;
(f) Support the promotion of less polluting
and more efficient technologies and processes in
industries, taking into account area-specific
accessible potentials for energy, particularly safe
and renewable sources of energy, with a view to
limiting industrial pollution, and adverse impacts on
the atmosphere.
4. Terrestrial and marine resource
development and land use
Basis for action
9.19. Land-use and resource policies will both affect
and be affected by changes in the atmosphere. Certain
practices related to terrestrial and marine resources
and land use can decrease greenhouse gas sinks and
increase atmospheric emissions. The loss of biological
diversity may reduce the resilience of ecosystems to
climatic variations and air pollution damage.
Atmospheric changes can have important impacts on
forests, biodiversity, and freshwater and marine
ecosystems, as well as on economic activities, such as
agriculture. Policy objectives in different sectors may
often diverge and will need to be handled in an
integrated manner.
Objectives
9.20. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To promote terrestrial and marine
resource utilization and appropriate land-use
practices that contribute to:
-
The reduction of atmospheric pollution and/or
the limitation of anthropogenic emissions of
greenhouse gases;
-
The conservation, sustainable management and
enhancement, where appropriate, of all sinks for
greenhouse gases;
- The conservation and sustainable use of natural
and environmental resources;
(b) To
ensure that actual and potential atmospheric changes
and their socio-economic and ecological impacts are
fully taken into account in planning and implementing
policies and programmes concerning terrestrial and
marine resources utilization and land-use practices.
Activities
9.21. Governments at the appropriate level, with the
cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and,
as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector, should:
(a) In accordance with national
socio-economic development and environment priorities,
evaluate and, as appropriate, promote cost-effective
policies or programmes, including administrative,
social and economic measures, in order to encourage
environmentally sound land-use practices;
(b)
Implement policies and programmes that will discourage
inappropriate and polluting land-use practices and
promote sustainable utilization of terrestrial and
marine resources;
(c) Consider promoting the development and
use of terrestrial and marine resources and land-use
practices that will be more resilient to atmospheric
changes and fluctuations;
(d) Promote sustainable management and
cooperation in the conservation and enhancement, as
appropriate, of sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse
gases, including biomass, forests and oceans, as well
as other terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems.
C. Preventing stratospheric ozone
depletion
Basis for action
9.22. Analysis of recent scientific data has
confirmed the growing concern about the continuing
depletion of the Earth's stratospheric ozone layer by
reactive chlorine and bromine from man-made CFCs, halons
and related substances. While the 1985 Vienna Convention
for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer (as amended in London in 1990) were important
steps in international action, the total chlorine
loading of the atmosphere of ozone-depleting substances
has continued to rise. This can be changed through
compliance with the control measures identified within
the Protocol.
Objectives
9.23. The objectives of this programme area are:
To realize the objectives defined in the Vienna
Convention and the Montreal Protocol and its 1990
amendments, including the consideration in those
instruments of the special needs and conditions of the
developing countries and the availability to them of
alternatives to substances that deplete the ozone layer.
Technologies and natural products that reduce demand for
these substances should be encouraged;
To develop strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse
effects of ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth's
surface as a consequence of depletion and modification
of the stratospheric ozone layer.
Activities
9.24. Governments at the appropriate level, with the
cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and,
as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector, should:
(a) Ratify, accept or approve the Montreal
Protocol and its 1990 amendments; pay their
contributions towards the Vienna/Montreal trust funds
and the interim multilateral ozone fund promptly; and
contribute, as appropriate, towards ongoing efforts
under the Montreal Protocol and its implementing
mechanisms, including making available substitutes for
CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances and
facilitating the transfer of the corresponding
technologies to developing countries in order to
enable them to comply with the obligations of the
Protocol;
(b) Support further expansion of
the Global Ozone Observing System by facilitating -
through bilateral and multilateral funding - the
establishment and operation of additional systematic
observation stations, especially in the tropical belt
in the southern hemisphere;
(c) Participate actively in the continuous
assessment of scientific information and the health
and environmental effects, as well as of the
technological/economic implications of stratospheric
ozone depletion; and consider further actions that
prove warranted and feasible on the basis of these
assessments;
(d) Based on the results of research on the
effects of the additional ultraviolet radiation
reaching the Earth's surface, consider taking
appropriate remedial measures in the fields of human
health, agriculture and marine environment;
(e) Replace CFCs and other ozone-depleting
substances, consistent with the Montreal Protocol,
recognizing that a replacement's suitability should be
evaluated holistically and not simply based on its
contribution to solving one atmospheric or
environmental problem.
D. Transboundary atmospheric
pollution
Basis for action
9.25. Transboundary air pollution has adverse health
impacts on humans and other detrimental environmental
impacts, such as tree and forest loss and the
acidification of water bodies. The geographical
distribution of atmospheric pollution monitoring
networks is uneven, with the developing countries
severely underrepresented. The lack of reliable
emissions data outside Europe and North America is a
major constraint to measuring transboundary air
pollution. There is also insufficient information on the
environmental and health effects of air pollution in
other regions.
9.26. The 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary
Air Pollution, and its protocols, have established a
regional regime in Europe and North America, based on a
review process and cooperative programmes for systematic
observation of air pollution, assessment and information
exchange. These programmes need to be continued and
enhanced, and their experience needs to be shared with
other regions of the world.
Objectives
9.27. The objectives of this programme area are:
(a) To develop and apply pollution control
and measurement technologies for stationary and mobile
sources of air pollution and to develop alternative
environmentally sound technologies;
(b) To
observe and assess systematically the sources and
extent of transboundary air pollution resulting from
natural processes and anthropogenic activities;
(c) To strengthen the capabilities,
particularly of developing countries, to measure,
model and assess the fate and impacts of transboundary
air pollution, through, inter alia, exchange of
information and training of experts;
(d) To develop capabilities to assess and
mitigate transboundary air pollution resulting from
industrial and nuclear accidents, natural disasters
and the deliberate and/or accidental destruction of
natural resources;
(e) To encourage the establishment of new and
the implementation of existing regional agreements for
limiting transboundary air pollution;
(f) To develop strategies aiming at the
reduction of emissions causing transboundary air
pollution and their effects.
Activities
9.28. Governments at the appropriate level, with the
cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and,
as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations, the private sector and financial
institutions, should:
(a) Establish and/or strengthen regional
agreements for transboundary air pollution control and
cooperate, particularly with developing countries, in
the areas of systematic observation and assessment,
modelling and the development and exchange of emission
control technologies for mobile and stationary sources
of air pollution. In this context, greater emphasis
should be put on addressing the extent, causes, health
and socio-economic impacts of ultraviolet radiation,
acidification of the environment and photo-oxidant
damage to forests and other vegetation;
(b)
Establish or strengthen early warning systems and
response mechanisms for transboundary air pollution
resulting from industrial accidents and natural
disasters and the deliberate and/or accidental
destruction of natural resources;
(c) Facilitate training opportunities and
exchange of data, information and national and/or
regional experiences;
(d) Cooperate on regional, multilateral and
bilateral bases to assess transboundary air pollution,
and elaborate and implement programmes identifying
specific actions to reduce atmospheric emissions and
to address their environmental, economic, social and
other effects.
Means of implementation
International and regional cooperation
9.29. Existing legal instruments have created
institutional structures which relate to the purposes of
these instruments, and relevant work should primarily
continue in those contexts. Governments should continue
to cooperate and enhance their cooperation at the
regional and global levels, including cooperation within
the United Nations system. In this context reference is
made to the recommendations in chapter 38 of Agenda 21
(International institutional arrangements).
Capacity-building
9.30. Countries, in cooperation with the relevant
United Nations bodies, international donors and
non-governmental organizations, should mobilize
technical and financial resources and facilitate
technical cooperation with developing countries to
reinforce their technical, managerial, planning and
administrative capacities to promote sustainable
development and the protection of the atmosphere, in all
relevant sectors.
Human resource development
9.31. Education and awareness-raising programmes
concerning the promotion of sustainable development and
the protection of the atmosphere need to be introduced
and strengthened at the local, national and
international levels in all relevant sectors.
Financial and cost evaluation
9.32. The Conference secretariat has estimated the
average total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing
the activities under programme area A to be about $640
million from the international community on grant or
concessional terms. These are indicative and
order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been
reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial
terms, including any that are non-concessional, will
depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and
programmes Governments decide upon for
implementation.
9.33. The Conference secretariat has estimated the
average total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing
the activities of the four-part programme under
programme area B to be about $20 billion from the
international community on grant or concessional terms.
These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates
only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual
costs and financial terms, including any that are
non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the
specific strategies and programmes Governments decide
upon for implementation.
9.34. The Conference secretariat has estimated the
average total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing
the activities under programme area C to be in the range
of $160-590 million on grant or concessional terms.
These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates
only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual
costs and financial terms, including any that are
non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the
specific strategies and programmes Governments decide
upon for implementation.
9.35. The Conference secretariat has included costing
for technical assistance and pilot programmes under
paragraphs 9.32 and 9.33.
Notes
1/ New and renewable energy sources are
solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind, hydro, biomass,
geothermal, ocean, animal and human power, as referred
to in the reports of the Committee on the Development
and Utilization of New and Renewable Sources of Energy,
prepared specifically for the Conference (see
A/CONF.151/PC/119 and A/AC.218/1992/5).
2/ This includes standards or recommendations
promoted by regional economic integration organizations.
Source: UN Department of Economic
and Social Affairs. Division for Sustainable
Development.15 December 2004. | 