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Overview of Canada's Air Quality Activities

Learn about air quality management in Canada, federal government's role, PM and Ozone Canada-wide Standards, Acid deposition, Canada-US Air Quality Agreement, international agreements, and future directions. Explore domestic and transboundary issues, emerging concerns, and more.

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Overview of Canada's Air Quality Activities

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  1. Overview of Canada’s Air Quality Activities by Peggy Farnsworth Director, Transboundary Air Issues Branch Environment Canada for presentation at EMEP Workshop on Particulate Matter Measurement & Modelling New Orleans, April 20 - 23, 2004

  2. Content Outline • Air issues management in Canada • Role of federal government • Major drivers • PM and ozone Canada-wide Standards • Acid deposition • Canada-US Air Quality Agreement • International Agreements • Future directions/needs • Domestic • Transboundary transport • Emerging Issues - Intercontinental transport

  3. Air Issues Management in Canada • Environmental management in Canada is shared among the federal, provincial and territorial governments • Governments work together on issues of national concern under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) and the Canada-wide Accord on Environmental Harmonization and its Canada-wide Environmental Standards Sub-Agreement • Standards Sub-Agreement provides the mechanism for the development of Canada-wide Standards (CWSs) that apply across Canada • CWSs can be emission related or ambient based

  4. Role of Federal Government • Atmospheric and environmental health science and research • National standards (e.g. new vehicles, fuels and products) • Management of toxic substances and their emissions reporting (NPRI) • Development, in consultation with provinces and territories, of national emission and ambient guidelines, codes of practice monitoring networks and air quality predictions

  5. Role of Federal Government • Negotiation of multilateral and bilateral international environmental agreements • In addition, The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 99) provides the federal government flexible legislative authority to regulate emissions of air pollutants to ensure health and air quality protection • Federal House in Order and Corporate Smog Action Plans by federal departments

  6. PM and Ozone Canada-wide Standards (CWSs) • Ambient CWSs for PM2.5 and ozone were approved by the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of the environment (except Québec*) in June 2000 • Ambient PM2.5 and ozone targets to be achieved by 2010 • PM2.5 – 30 mg/m3 as a 24-hour average • Ozone – 65 ppb as an 8-hour average

  7. PM and Ozone Canada-wide Standards (CWSs)Main Elements • “Best efforts” provision • Continuous Improvement (CI) and Keeping Clean Areas Clean (KCAC) provisions • Guidance document on achievement determination • Monitoring protocol • Guidance document on CI/KCAC being developed

  8. PM and Ozone Canada-wide Standards (CWSs)Main Elements • Set of Joint Initial Actions • Jurisdictional implementation plans to achieve targets by 2010 and for CI/KCAC (includes federal jurisdictional plan) • Reporting on progress in implementing all provisions of the CWS Agreement • Periodic scheduled reviews of the CWSs

  9. PM2.5 Current Situation

  10. Ozone Current Situation

  11. Canada-wide Acid Rain Strategy for Post-2000 • October 1998 – strategy signed by federal and provincial Energy and Environment ministers • Strategy includes • Setting targets and schedules for further reductions in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia • further discussions on additional reductions in the US • Keeping Clean Areas Clean is one of the commitments under this strategy

  12. 1996 – 2000 Wet deposition Critical Loads Acid Deposition Current Situation

  13. Canada - US Air Quality Agreement • Agreement signed in 1991 • “Ozone Annex” added to the Agreement in December 2000 • Currently evaluating the need for a “PM Annex”

  14. International Agreements and Commitments • UN-ECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP): • Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone

  15. Future Directions • 2010 review of the PM and ozone CWS • Tracking effectiveness of existing and proposed emission reduction initiatives • Evaluation of role played by ammonia in PM formation • EC working closely with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) on efforts to control and reduce emissions of ammonia to the atmosphere • Evaluation of the transboundary transport potential of ammonia gas and ammonia-related particles • Continued evaluation of transboundary movements of PM and its precursors between Canada and the US

  16. Emerging Issue -Intercontinental Transport • Currently more questions than answers • How frequent does it occur • What pollutants are at play • What are typical contributions • What is the frequency and magnitude of intercontinental transport high concentration events

  17. Wrap-Up • Introduced some of the main policy drivers in Canada • PM and ozone CWS • Acid deposition • Canada-US Air Quality Agreement • Introduce guidance for future direction/needs • Review of the CWS • Tracking effectiveness of emission actions • Transboundary transport • Intercontinental transport

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