Article 1 Definitions

‘Convention’ means the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, adopted at Geneva on 13 November 1979;

The terms ‘this Protocol’, ‘the Protocol’ and ‘the present Protocol’ mean the 1999 Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone, as amended from time to time;

‘EMEP’ means the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe;

‘Executive Body’ means the Executive Body for the Convention constituted under article 10, paragraph 1, of the Convention;

‘Commission’ means the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;

‘Parties’ means, unless the context otherwise requires, the Parties to the present Protocol;

‘Geographical scope of EMEP’ means the area defined in article 1, paragraph 4, of the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on Long-term Financing of the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP), adopted at Geneva on 28 September 1984;

‘Emission’ means the release of a substance from a point or diffuse source into the atmosphere;

‘Nitrogen oxides’ means nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide, expressed as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂);

‘Reduced nitrogen compounds’ means ammonia and its reaction products, expressed as ammonia (NH₃);

‘Sulphur’ means all sulphur compounds, expressed as sulphur dioxide (SO₂);

‘Volatile organic compounds’, or ‘VOCs’, means, unless otherwise specified, all organic compounds of an anthropogenic nature, other than methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by reaction with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight;

‘Particulate matter’ or ‘PM’ is an air pollutant consisting of a mixture of particles suspended in the air. These particles differ in their physical properties (such as size and shape) and chemical composition. Unless otherwise stated, all references to particulate matter in the present Protocol refer to particles with an aerodynamic diameter equal to or less than 10 microns (μm) (PM10), including those with an aerodynamic diameter equal to or less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5);

‘Black carbon’ means carbonaceous particulate matter that absorbs light;

‘Ozone precursors’ means nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, methane and carbon monoxide;

‘Critical load’ means a quantitative estimate of an exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur, according to present knowledge;

‘Critical levels’ means concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere or fluxes to receptors above which direct adverse effects on receptors, such as human beings, plants, ecosystems or materials, may occur, according to present knowledge;

‘Pollutant emissions management area’, or ‘PEMA’, means an area designated in annex III under the conditions laid down in article 3, paragraph 9;

‘Stationary source’ means any fixed building, structure, facility, installation or equipment that emits or may emit sulphur, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, volatile organic compounds or particulate matter directly or indirectly into the atmosphere;

‘New stationary source’ means any stationary source of which the construction or substantial modification is commenced after the expiry of one year from the date of entry into force for a Party of the present Protocol. A Party may decide not to treat as a new stationary source any stationary source for which approval has already been given by the appropriate competent national authorities at the time of entry into force of the Protocol for that Party and provided that the construction or substantial modification is commenced within 5 years of that date. It shall be a matter for the competent national authorities to decide whether a modification is substantial or not, taking account of such factors as the environmental benefits of the modification.