Agenda item 4(a) Reporting mechanism Presentation of the synthesis report This is a sample Title Slide with Picture ideal for including a dark picture with a brief title and subtitle. Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision- making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters 15 September 2017, Budva

INTRODUCTION We work collectively Colleagues lead on individual contributions Tremendous support from the Secretariat Text: A reminder of what I said last meeting Synthesis report a compilation of individual contributions Most certainly not just me Hugely grateful for support of colleagues and secretariat

Decision I/5 mandate Synthesis report summarises the National Implementation Reports identifies “significant trends, challenges and solutions” (para. 5). Text: brief overview of the implementation of the Protocol in order to explain what patterns emerge, what issues are faced and in some cases ideas on how they may be resolved.

Importance of reporting under the Protocol “Important contextual material” (Decision I/5) Raw material for Compliance assessment Helps Parties to understand whether Protocol is working Should inform strategic direction that MOP takes Text: brief overview of the implementation of the Protocol in order to explain what patterns emerge, what issues are faced and in some cases ideas on how they may be resolved.

Obviously…. Parties should submit reports Should submit reports on time Should involve the public in the preparation of reports And most do

Presentation of data Overwhelming majority of Parties make all PRTR data available through direct electronic means and aim to make data user-friendly, but still a few who don’t Common practice for environmental information web pages and PRTR pages to cross-refer Parties are collecting information on web page visitors

Access to information Nearly all reporting countries have sufficient legal framework to handle requests for environmental information pursuant to the Aarhus Convention and the Protocol administrative and judicial review procedures with regard to a denial of access to PRTR information Longstanding requirement

Protection of whistle-blowers widely perceived as a fundamental part of the Parties’ existing law and constitution few Parties report on practical measures to protect whistle-blowers, and there should be more detailed reporting on that issue in future

Reporting and sources of data Most Parties say operators report electronically and data are stored in electronic databases But some reports failed to answer certain questions relating to the record-keeping, data storage and using the best available information. Almost all Parties’ PRTRs are more extensive than the minimum requirements in the Protocol (e.g., by covering more activities or pollutants or lower thresholds) A wide range of ways of recording emissions from diffuse sources Room for improvement in some Parties – they don’t include or link to information on diffuse sources

Confidentiality Operators or owners required to report under the Protocol do not claim confidentiality very often, and in some countries confidentiality claims are decreasing In several countries confidentiality claims relate to waste generation and waste shipment Little reporting on practical experience with confidentiality claims (as opposed to legal basis)

Article 13 obligations on public participation in the development of national PRTRs Many countries reported the active development of various electronic tools to make information more easily available, for example through governmental websites Some countries report they used meetings or workshops to deliver public participation and distribute information with regard to PRTRs.

Article 15: capacity building (Article 15 deals with the national level) Divided into two broad categories the provision of information to, and education of civil servants in charge of the PRTR awareness-raising among the potential users Awareness-raising measures include press releases, campaigns for journalists, videos available on the web, online tools, including Q&A

Article 16 capacity building (international level) Many Parties use Article 16 to help States with economies in transition to establish national PRTRs Some Parties promote the Protocol by collaboration with non-Parties outside the ECE region, although, strictly speaking, that falls outside the ambit of the synthesis report Area where extra effort can bring real added value: room for focus

Challenges and solutions Now the majority of countries have functioning PRTR systems, they need to focus on the promotion of those systems and engaging stakeholders addressing specific challenges raised in the synthesis report (many of which are the same as the last reporting cycle delivering compliance throughout the UNECE area

Involvement of Civil Society Some Parties still report a lack of involvement of civil society and lack of interest in the development of PRTRs We have identified a range of measures that could be taken (e.g. publications, training, workshops, seminars, etc.) Room for more work here

PRTR web pages Level of awareness of the public about PRTR web pages should be constantly raised (remaining from last reporting cycle) the functionality and accessibility of PRTR web pages should be gradually improved some activity on statistical data on the number and other characteristics of web page visitors this data should help understand how awareness and accessibility might be improved

PRTR web pages Focus on the user: We suggest surveying who is using the data already and targeting further potential users Potential users in the non-profit sector (governmental and non-governmental organizations), as well as in the business sector. Objective: raise awareness for the potential added value PRTR data can generate Data input and quality of data improve electronic reporting in order to make it easier for facilities and competent authorities to report This unpacks what the last slide and repeats what we said last time

Other improvements to PRTRs make registers more up to date: Parties that publish their data later than 12 months after the end of the reporting year could consider earlier deadlines for reporting minimise duplicative reporting by analysing existing legislation through, e.g., the establishment of a national working group for PRTR implementation; foster harmonization concerning the exceedance of minimum standards: for example thresholds, the number of pollutants, activities, water, energy, resource consumption, source-type of greenhouse gas emissions (fossil versus non‑fossil)? There are other steady, systematic changes to the PRTRs which we would still like to see

Other improvements to PRTRs encourage Parties and operators to use their Registers to report on additional subjects (such as additional pollutants and sources of pollution, energy consumption, changes in production volumes, emission reduction below existing thresholds and parameters related to sustainable production in general) – slight improvement, but more could be done complete any missing data in the national Registers and complete or revise related legislation by adopting the necessary measures fully to implement the Protocol

Good practices with respect to claims for confidentiality All the information contained in a PRTR should be considered as “environmental information” and any possible ground for refusal based on confidentiality should be interpreted in a restrictive way All claims for confidentiality should be treated consistently: maybe build up a bank of decision criteria that might be applied to claims of confidentiality Again recommendations from last year which we have kept in

EIT countries Parties with economies in transition face challenges in implementing their PRTRs because of financial constraints, a lack of human resources and technical facilities. Substantial and continuing international cooperation with, assistance to and support for such countries is a priority Repeated message

And finally …. The synthesis report prepared by the Compliance Committee and online available on the UNECE website (www.unece.org/env/pp/prtr/mopp3_docs.html).