Guidelines for reporting emissions and projections data under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution

This document contains the guidelines for reporting emissions and projections data under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution as adopted for application in 2015 and subsequent years. These guidelines are a revised version of the Guidelines for Reporting Emission data under the Convention (ECE/EB.AIR/97), which were approved by the Executive Body in 2008 (ECE/EB.AIR/96, para. 83 (b)). The revised guidelines were prepared by the Convention’s Task Force on Emission Inventories and Projections and include technical changes approved at the thirty-seventh
session of the Steering Body to the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP) (Geneva, 9–11 September 2013), as well as further changes proposed and agreed to by the Executive Body at its thirty-second session (Geneva, 9-13 December 2013).

The objectives of the Guidelines are to assist Parties in meeting their emission reporting obligations under the Convention and its protocols; to facilitate the consideration of Parties’ reports, including their technical analysis and compilation; and to facilitate the evaluation of data quality by the Convention’s Implementation Committee.

The Guidelines aim to achieve greater transparency, consistency, comparability, completeness and accuracy in reported emission data. Moreover, they aim to harmonize reporting procedures under the Convention with those used elsewhere, including under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in particular with regard to source sectors for allocating emissions and projections.

While the Guidelines offer voluntary guidance, their legal basis is established through Executive Body Decision 2013/3 on Adoption of Guidelines for Reporting Emissions and Projections Data under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and Executive Body Decision 2013/4 on Reporting of emissions and projections data under the Convention and its protocols in force, both adopted at its thirty-second session. The present Guidelines are subject to review and revision, as decided by the Executive Body. The Task Force on Emission Inventories and Projections may, if necessary, propose amendments to the Steering Body to EMEP to achieve harmonization with other reporting obligations, as well as to meet needs for increased transparency or other needs for further revision. The Task Force should transmit to the Steering Body any problems or discrepancies encountered by emissions experts in the application of the Guidelines.