PROTOCOL ON VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN FORCE
1 October 1997
A new instrument to combat toxic air pollutants and precursors of
photochemical pollution
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are capable of producing photochemical oxidants,
mainly ozone, by reactions with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. The result is
often referred to as "photochemical smog" -- a worldwide phenomenon which adds to the
increasing health hazards especially in large cities with heavy traffic. VOCs have adverse
effects on receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems and materials. The most
evidenced effects of VOCs and their photochemical successors are various respiratory
diseases and eye irritations in humans and severe damage to crops. Photochemical smog
also seriously diminishes visibility.
VOCs are mainly emitted through the incomplete combustion of motor fuels by
vehicles and by the industrial use of VOC-containing paints, glues and inks, mainly for metal
coating, printing and surface cleaning. Other sources include extraction and distribution of
fuels and various production processes, for instance in petroleum refinery, the organic
chemical industry and the iron and steel industry.
A new Protocol to the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution entered
into force on 29 September 1997. The Protocol aims to curb the emissions of volatile
VOCs, mainly hydrocarbons, and their transboundary fluxes. It is the fifth in a series of
specific international agreements on air pollution negotiated within the framework of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) to combat air pollution in the
region. The VOC Protocol was initially signed by 21 Parties to the Convention, and it has
so far been ratified by 16 of them (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland and United Kingdom), the exact number required for it to come into effect.
By ratifying the Protocol concerning the Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic
Compounds or their Transboundary Fluxes, the Parties are committed to reducing their
national VOC emissions by 30% between 1988 and 1999 or within "specified ozone-management areas (TOMAs)", i.e. areas within countries where particular intensive activities
causing VOC emissions take place. A few Parties have chosen to apply an alternative
option of the Protocol and freeze their VOC emissions by the year 1999.
To bring their environmental policies in line with the objectives of the VOC Protocol,
the Parties have taken or are gradually introducing the following measures:
They are developing national programmes or action plans to control and reduce VOC
emissions in compliance with the control option that they chose when they signed the
Protocol, and they are introducing VOC emission standards based on best available
technology (BAT);
They are drawing up national VOC emission inventories following, inter alia, the
comprehensive methodological guidance provided in the atmospheric emission
inventory guidebook, drafted under the Convention and in collaboration with the
European Community;
They are facilitating the exchange of technology to reduce VOC emissions; and
They are developing national and/or international R&D programmes related to effects,
monitoring and modelling of VOCs and photochemical oxidants and control techniques
for VOC emissions from stationary and mobile sources.
A second step to the 1988 NOx Protocol is now being negotiated. It will follow a
multi-pollutant and multi-effect approach. It will cover nitrogen compounds and VOCs, and
take into account acidification, eutrophication and photochemical ozone formation. For
VOCs, it has already been decided that the obligations of the VOC Protocol should be the
starting point for scenario analysis and for negotiations on the reduction of nitrogen
compounds and related substances without precluding the possibility of agreement on
further or faster emission reduction requirements for VOCs.
The effective implementation of the VOC Protocol by many Parties to the Convention,
particularly countries with economies in transition, will certainly help in the development of
necessary policy instruments for designing a multi-pollutant and multi-effect strategy to
combat transboundary air pollution in the ECE region.