CEC
Summary:
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation of the North
American Agreement on Economic Cooperation (a side agreement
of the North American Free Trade Agreement -- NAFTA) is
leading several efforts related to the environment of the
North American continent, with emphasis on the atmosphere
and air quality. ARL has been working closely with the
CEC teams,
and has been instrumental in guiding CEC activities related
to coupling air quality datasets from the three countries.
Justification:
In North America, our
continental environment is already carrying the unmistakable
imprint of society's actions. We are not in the business
of controlling emissions to return to some favored pristine
state, In bold contrast, we are engaged in a battle to maintain
our already-managed environment at a level that satisfies
our societal demands. And we recognize that emissions in
one country affect the others, and that our societies and
economies are intimately related. We must each work together
to avoid the risk of national policies that adversely affect
our neighbors, and to base our independent actions on a continental-scale
understanding of each environmental problem that we confront.
None of our economies can tolerate the burden of ineffective
pollution controls.
In North America, we have an opportunity to progressto
a new enlightened state of cohabitation with our environmental
surroundings. NAAEC/CEC provides
a mechanism to promote a common level of understanding,
and to debate the central issues of controls and regulation
at a multi-national level. In the end, it is expected that
this will become a global effort. NAAEC/CEC is currently
building a coordinated attack on the multi-national environmental
problems of today, with an eye to the future. It is hoped
that we will jointly be able to leave "business as
usual" behind as we address complicated problems of
the future that will affect us all.
Continental integration of air quality monitoring:
A major accomplishment
has been the tri-national adoption of an agreement to rationalize
monitoring activities in the three countries, by arranging
for collocation of samplers as selected border locations.
This agreement has been signed, with the Administrator of
the EPA signing for the
USA. The agreement specifies that different airquality sampling
systems used in the three countries will be intercompared,
permitting corrections to be applied in order to combine
the separatedata sets into a single coordinated view representing
the continent as a whole. ARL participates in the CEC North
American Air Monitoringand Modeling Committee.
Long-range transport:
It is obvious that the
air recognizes no international boundaries, and that air
pollution decisions made in any jurisdiction will affect
air pollution in its neighbors. The atmosphere carries pollutants
for long distances, with chemical reactions occurring along
the way, such that the far distant consequences of emission
changes can sometimes be rather unexpected.
Experience has taught well that the concept of uniform,
continental-wide application of standardized control strategiesis
a reflection of political fairness and legal simplification
that fails to recognize the differences in the environments
that contribute to surface ozone pollution. Clearly, solar
radiation intensity varies with latitude, and all chemical
reactions that are promoted by ultraviolet radiation will
be affected accordingly. Among these reactions are many
of those that lead to ozone generationfrom its precursors.
Moreover, the composition of the natural"chemical
soup" that contributes to ozone production varies
greatly from place to place, with striking differences
with longitude. Thus, ozone control strategies are likely
to need recognition that what works well in one location
will not necessarily work as well in others. The range
of situations encountered across this continent is so wide
that control strategies should be based on only the very
best understanding, or else the ozone reduction targets
will not be met and the consequences of any regulatory
errors will be propagated downwind to affect other areas,
in another jurisdiction if not in another country.
For the future, we look forward to a policy of "no
surprises" in which understanding guides regulation.
This is a substantial departure from the regulatory approaches
of the past, when controls have been imposed as politically
expedient with a "zero emissions" target as an
ideal that all decisions drive towards. Now, we cannot
tolerate the economic burden of imposing controls that
are simple response to perceived problems, designed to
gain political favor. These have been shown to risk imposing
great cost on society due to consequences that even though
sometimes known were not permitted to interfere with the
political pragmatism that was in control. The efforts to
take whatever opportunity to drive steadily towards a zero-emissionssociety
borders on religious advocacy; it paints mankind as being
at war with our environment, whereas we are increasingly
recognized as being a central part of it. All of this needs
to be at a continental scale, with full recognition of
the reality that decisions imposed on Mexican emitters
may well affect US ecosystems, etc.
A team of experts has assembled to initiate construction
of a tri-national program on "Continental Pollutant
Pathways," intended to move towards a coherent continental
environmental strategy, with emphasis on air quality and
its ecosystem repercussions. ARL serves as the US Chairman
of the organizing committee of this activity.
Contacts --
Bruce Hicks (bruce.hicks@noaa.gov)
Rick Artz (richard.artz@noaa.gov) |
