ABSTRACT
European countries have repeatedly succeeded at agreeing to reduce transboundary air pollution of various forms.[ 1 ] In the Second Sulphur Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), which addresses sulfur emissions causing acid rain (UN/ECE, 1994), the negotiators arrived at an innovative solution. Non-uniform emission cuts would achieve progress toward the science-based “critical loads” – a level of sulfur deposition that essentially results in no observable environmental impact – at the least possible cost across the continent. Not only did many countries pledge to reduce their emissions substantially more than their neighbors – Germany, for example, promised to reduce emissions by 87%, while Greece promised only 4% reductions – without compensation for asymmetric burdens, but they have largely followed through with implementing their promises.
