1. Air Quality : Information to the Public and Reporting Frameworks Frans Fierens Belgian Interregional Environment Agency (VMM - IRCEL) fierens@irceline.be

2. IRCEL – CELINE ? Belgian Interregional Environment Agency Till 1994 : Air Quality assessment/measurements were Federal Competence 1994 : Agreement between the three Regions for cooperation via IRCEL-CELINE Main Tasks : Interregional Calibration Bench Interregional Air Quality Database Interregional Data Processing Centre (IDPC) Contact with EU-COM and international organisations (EEA, EMEP, UN, …) Experts in EU and other regional, national and international AQ working groups, …

3. Information to the Public

4. EU “cleaner Air for Europe” Directive 2008/50/EC Article 26 Public information 1. Member States shall ensure that the public as well as appropriate organisations such as environmental organisations, consumer organisations, organisations representing the interests of sensitive populations, other relevant health-care bodies and the relevant industrial federations are informed, adequately and in good time, of the following: (a) ambient air quality in accordance with Annex XVI; (b)…

5. Public Information 2008/50/EC - Annex XVI 1. Real-time AQ information – see Annex XVI – continuously …up-to-date information … routinely made available to the public. ambient concentrations … as average values according to the appropriate averaging period …indicate any levels exceeding air quality Information on ambient concentrations of SO2, NO2, particulate matter (at least PM10), O3 and CO shall be updated on at least a daily basis, and, wherever practicable, information shall be updated on an hourly basis. INTERNET

6. Real-time AQ information Real-Time AQ data are also sent to EEA (ozone web …see later on) DEMO website IRCEL-CELINE Real-time AQ info, update every hour Measurements Forecasts Tables, Maps, Reports, … …

7. Public Information 2008/50/EC - Annex XVI 2. Real-time AQ information – see Annex XVI – Exceedances of info/alert thresholds Member States shall ensure that timely information about actual or predicted exceedances of alert thresholds, and any information threshold is provided to the public. Information thresholds : only for Ozone (180 µg/m³ hourly mean) Alert thresholds : Ozone (240 µg/m³), SO2 (600 µg/m³), NO2 (400 µg/m3) : 3 consecutive hours = short term measures (for ozone … when appropriate) NO info/alert thresholds for Particulate Matter (PM10, PM2.5)

8. Public Information 2008/50/EC - Annex XVI 2. Real-time AQ information – see Annex XVI – Exceedances of info/alert thresholds Information of the public (written and audio-visual press, eg. weather forecasters) Information of the responsible ministries (Environment, Health, Transport, …) and policy makers Neighbouring countries (NL, FR, DE and LU) Warning (or Alert) Bulletins send by e-mail

9. Public Information 2008/50/EC – Article 24 Short-term action plans Where, in a given zone or agglomeration, there is a risk that the levels of pollutants will exceed one or more of the alert thresholds specified in Annex XII, Member States shall draw up action plans indicating the measures to be taken in the short term in order to reduce the risk or duration of such an exceedance. Where this risk applies to one or more limit values or target values specified in Annexes VII, XI and XIV, Member States may, where appropriate, draw up such short-term action plans.

10. Public Information 2008/50/EC – Article 24 Belgium : Wintersmog action plans Forecasted PM10 > 70 µg/m³ for two concecutive days -> traffic measures Flanders : speed limit from 120 -> 90 km/u on certain motorways Brussels : speed limits (fase 1), traffic reduction based on number plate(fase 2), total traffic ban (fase 3) Wallonia : speed limit from 120 -> 90 km/u on some motorways + emission reductions Industry

11. Public Information 2008/50/EC – Article 24

12. Reporting Frameworks

13. Reporting Obbligations Air Quality Annual Reporting on AQ EoI – DEM Montly and Summer Ozone reporting Air Emissions NEC LCP LRTAP UNFCCC (Greenhouse Gases)

14. 14 Overview reporting : Air Quality Assessment (1/3) 2004/461/EC : Questionnaire for annual reporting on ambient air quality assessment and management annual reporting under 2008/50/EC for SO 2 ; NO 2 /NO x ; PM10; PM2,5; O 3, Pb, VOC has been updated recently to report pollutants of the 4DD : As, Cd, Ni and BaP (mandatory in 2009) EIONET Priority Data flow Deadline : annually by 30 September Via Central Data Repository (CDR) - cdr.eionet.europa.eu/

15. 2004/461/EC : Questionnaire for annual reporting on ambient air quality assessment and management Excel Templates … lots of sheets 2009 : testing “web-browser” based reporting (via CDR) to replace Excel

16. Overview reporting : Air Quality Assessment (2/3) European database Air Quality Data : AIRBASE Tool: Data Exchange Module (DEM) : air-climate.eionet.europa.eu/country_tools/aq/aq-dem/ EIONET Priority Data flow Deadline : annually by 30 September Via Central Data Repository (CDR) : cdr.eionet.europa.eu/ Exchange of Information (EoI) on Air Quality (AQ) data : old 97/101/EC – now integrated in 2008/50/EC

17. EOI - DEM Not only Exceedances of limit/target values ! All measured AQ (+ meta) data !

18. 18 Overview reporting : Air Quality Assessment (3/3) 2002/3/EC : Monthly Ozone Exceedances Summer Ozone Exceedances April – September (not validated data) “Full Summer” Ozone Report (validated data) EiONET Priority Data flow Deadline : - Monthly : by the end of following month (eg. for April = 31 May) - via“Excel” sheets -“Full” summer : annually by 31 October - Via Central Data Repository (CDR) - cdr.eionet.europa.eu/

19. Ozone : near-real time reporting http://www.eea.europa.eu/maps/ozone/welcome In 2008 : Can near- real time AQ info be used to replace ozone reporting 2009 (?) : Extend to NO2, PM, …

20. 20 Overview reporting : Air Emissions (1/5) 2001/81/EC : National Emission Ceilings for SO 2, NO x, NH 3 and VOC : Reporting of national emission inventories and emission projections for 2010, using the methodologies agreed upon by the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and using the joint EMEP/CORINAIR guidebook in preparing these inventories and projections “Excel” tables EIONET Priority Data flow Deadline: annually by 31 December Via Central Data Repository (CDR) : cdr.eionet.europa.eu/

21. 21 Overview reporting : Air Emissions (2/5) 2001/80/EC : limitation of air emissions from Large Combustion Plants (thermal input ≥ 50MW): Summary of the results of plant-by-plant inventory, every three years within 12 months from the end of the three-year period considered. Commission may request yearly plant by plant data (for each plant total amount of energy input by fuel type: biomass, other solid fuel, liquid fuel, natural gas, other gas). Deadline : 3-yearly; next report by 31 December 2010 Via Central Data Repository (CDR) : cdr.eionet.europa.eu/

22. 22 Overview reporting : Air Emissions (3/5) 2001/80/EC : Opted-Out plants : Report on existing plants declared for eligibility under Article 4.4 annually reporting on those existing plants declared for eligibility under article 4(4) along with the record of the used and unused time allowed for the plants remaining operational life. Deadline: annually before 1 January Via Central Data Repository (CDR) : cdr.eionet.europa.eu/

23. 23 Overview reporting : Air Emissions (4/5) UNECE Air Emission Reporting - CLRTAP Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution broad framework for co-operative action on air pollution Council Decision 81/462/EEC EIONET Priority Data flow Deadline: annually by 15 February (“Excel” NFR tables) and annually by 15 March (IIR “Informative Inventory Report “report) Via Central Data Repository (CDR) - cdr.eionet.europa.eu/ and UNECE Secretariat

24. Overview reporting : Air Emissions (5/5) Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Obligation EU-COM (directive 280/2004/EC ) “Excel” CRF tables 15/1 : “initial” submission 15/3 : “final” submission UNFCCC “Reporter” Software 15/4 EIONET Priority Data flow Via Central Data Repository (CDR) - cdr.eionet.europa.eu and UNFCCC FTP server

25. Data Flow “scores”

27. Thanks ! More info : http://www.irceline.be http://www.vmm.be http://www.leefmilieubrussel.be http://environnement.wallonie.be/ http://www.eea.europa.eu/ (and lots of others …)